Thankfully, undeterred and with the intervention of the ICO, the council were forced to release the following data. The most graphic way of showing how residents' views were completely ignored is by sharing this raw data.
We've searched all the comments input for any mention of privatisation or outsourcing. To save you time we've highlighted the bit where a sole resident asked for our libraries to be outsourced.
And, whilst looking through you will notice the data is sorted alphanumerically.The data is so poorly input and sorted so crudely that comments, clearly made on a specific library are disassociated from the named library or irrelevant as split from the preceding points made. This further demonstrates that there was never any real intention of considering the suggestions made. This was, without a doubt, a sham consultation.
And take a moment to sign the 38 degrees petition if you agree. http://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/no-to-privatisation-of-croydon-s-libraries
In response to the question,
What ideas do you have that you think would help save money?
the following comments were gathered, reproduced here, exactly as received (other than our highlighting):
- charge more to hire DVD and CD's. - Reduce the number of PC's. - Reduce the number of staff. - Hire out library spaces/halls for functions and events.
- Hire out facilities/rooms - Higher charges for DVD's/CD's - Higher fines for non -returns Libraries are a fundamental part of our Society and should not be closed. They are in many cases the hub of the community; a place for people who dont have
- Voluntary staff - Have a caf‚ in the library to make more money and encourage custom as people could meet their friends there. It would make the library more popular and would make it a more productive service.
(1) Hire out the unused hall at the top of Norbury Library. Plenty of groups would jump at the chance of this space. (2) Allow local residents to set up a society dedicated to caring for Norbury library i.e. it could be part of Croydon's answer to the PM's call for THE BIG SOCIETY. The society would help buy a lift to get to the unused hall and ultimately, help keep the l brary open .
* Charge for internet use * Close a few of the branches that are used the least * Hire out any spare rooms to community projects, etc as a way of making money
* provision of fewer computer and more books
*Allow people to donate used books to libraries. *Set up a voluntary donation box where l brary users can donate moeney, if they wish to.
1- Have senior library assistants opening and closing the library . 2- get rid of children librarians in every library and get the senior l brary assistants to carry out the activities and also get rid of the library manger in each library and have one person covering 2 or 3 libraries.
1) cut the number of councillors and their allowances. 2) Stopping employing needless temporary staff in council offices and paying them inflated wages/agency fees. 3) introduce compulsory community service to prisonors to clean streets and collect rubbish as part of their prison sentence.
1) Find out what time of day / week, libraries are most used and consider reducing the hours they are open. 2) Ashburton l brary is located in Oasis Academy School, this model might be possible with other libraries / schools, so that the school and l bary can share resources (eg Bradmore Green and Coulsdon C of E) 3) Hire out library space in the evenings or when they aren't used, for quiz nights, book readings etc. 4) Invite local people to meet to brainstorm ideas for cost-savings in their l brary, thereby getting the community backing to the project.
1) Paid Membership Card to join the Library. 2)Develop a Simulated Driving for Learner Drivers which Learner drivers have to pay to learn on similar to BSM- but could be cheaper to learn on. 3) Are there rooms in the Library that can be rented out for meetings etc
1) Possibly more volunteers 2) Yearly subscription, tiered depending on what you use the library for.
1) Reduce open days 2) Reduce non core staff 3) Do not provide daily newspapers/magazines, CDs/DVDs 4) Charge for more services - use of computer, borrowing of books (except for children, consessions an OAPs). I am sure that customers would not object to paying to use the computers/borrowing books.
1) Small subscription fee for some services. 2) Local companies advertising for a fee. 3) Local companies sponsoring books/equipment. 4) Fund raising activities to boost funds for individual libraries.
1. Charge a small fee to borrow a book. 2. Limit the opening times to mornings only.
1. Sell old books for dearer. Many of the books I buy are priced 20p! This could easily be raised to 50p or 70p, or higher. 2. When authors visit the library (usually for the kids/teens book clubs etc) ask parents for a donation - say œ2. This is still a real bargain for a school child to ask direct questions to authors. 3. Display/sell local artists work & take a % of any sale made
1. By asking customers to pay a fee for using computers. Where else would people expect to use computers for free? 2. By asking for a small fee for children's activities, and book trail. I can't imagine why you don't charge already. 3. Charge a very small amount, say 10p for each book borrowed. Or put fines up.
1. Charge for childrens activities (e.g. RhymeTime) 2. Increase cost of overdue books 3. Begin to charge for childrens overdue books 4. Increase the price of film rental. 5. Create a "cafe" with hot drinks, cakes But, please DON'T close Sanderstead library - it is such a welcoming and friendly place in our community
1. End the policy of late or all night opening of pubs. I live next to the Gold Coast pub and as a member of the local neighbourhood patnership, have heard that many people are disturbed by their allowing rowdy behaviour in the
neighbourhoodstreets. This policy requires the wasteful use of many local services, for example, police, justce, health services etc.
1. Halve the allowances/expenses of the Councillor with executive responsibility for libraries (Cllr Fisher and the relevant cabinet member). 2. Halve the allowances/expenses of any Councillor representing a ward where a library closes and where the Councillor fails to vote against the closure proposal. (For every œ2 of legitimate expenses, refund only œ1) 3. Ask the library staff how money can be saved. You have genuine expertise in the l braries, as
I see whenever I visit them. Listening to them could help make a real difference. 4. Selsdon L brary opened as the result of a planning permission whereby Selsdon became busier, a corporation was able to expand, but (to compensate) services to library users and the elderly were improved. If we had known that this would provide a (fig-leaf) justification for closing Sanderstead Library, we would have objected to the decision. 5. You can save time and money by not stating false things in your consultation, such as that Selsdon has good parking. It doesn't. 6. The Conservatives will, deservedly, suffer politically for the decision to close Sanderstead Library. The new administration that replaces them will be better. Money will be saved as a result.
1. Make the library commercial viable (use the premises other than for a library) 2. Give it to the community to run
1. Optional charging for borrowing books 2. Shut for one extra day per week 3. Charging for archival research
1. Recruit some volunteer staff. 2. Introduce a small annual subscription fee. 3. Introduce more paid-for services: eg, after school tutoring, help with reading or a dyslexia support group.
1. Schemes where users/ local people are encouraged to donate just read or nearly new books to the local library. This could be encouraged by the use of "Donated by.........." stickers in the books. 2. No-one wants to see the loss of librarians with their special blend of skills, but the routine, mundane jobs - issuing books, putting books back on the shelves etc- could possibly be done by local volunteers. 3. Bar code readers so customers could return
their own books and log them out (cf Caterham Valley Library and, I am sure, others)
1. Sell off the free parking facilities for council employees adjacent to Croydon Fly Over. 2. Local councillors used to be paid only for their expenses but now they receive renummeration. Cut their wages by 20% until the debt/saving is paid. 3. Banker bonuses will be taxed at a 60% rate resulting in a net tax inflow to the exchequer of 3-4 Billion œ. Move 10% of this to the UK Councils to offset the cost of providing library services. 4. If 6 libraries
are to poss bly close, then if each library closes for only 1 day per week on a rota basis then the savings of two salaries should enable a œ50k saving per year. Not much, but a start. 5. I have plenty of ideas if you want to discuss.
1. Take a fine for books which are returned late. 2. A fine for CD's/DVD's returned late. 3. Accept a donation of books from the public (I tried donating books to the library but I was told not to) 4. Allow schools to come to the library to listen to stories and/or watch a DVD for a minimum fee.
1. Use of Volunteers 2. Install a coffee machine 3. Make a small charge for display of notices 4. ----- ditto ----- for use of computers 5. -------ditto ------ for group meetings (eg rhyme time 6. Reduce opening hours
1.Reduce staffing levels so that libraries are open 40 hours a week only but maintain an evening and Saturday so that those who work can have access. 2. Why not charge a rental for new fiction and "popular biography"? They do that in New Zealand and actually make a profit on lending this type of book. 3. Seek some volunteer help nut look after your volunteers as the Naitonal rust does or take unemployed on and give them proper training.
24 hour secure area Self- help consoles. Volunteer manning.
A minimal donation to join l braries. Chn and students and oap's free.
A programme run within local primary and secondary schools involving a few students giving up a couple hours a week perhaps after school or at weekends to be l brarians. Many school l brarys have pupil librarians and many of them I am certain would be willing to contribute to a smoother running library. This may help promote the local librarys as a place to learn and study, especially for students soon to be taking the increasingly important exams.
A reduction in opening hours until the financial situation improves? Less new stock coupled with appeals for donations of unwanted books? Use of volunteers?
a small fee could be charged for the services that the l brary provides for instance the rhyme time - Voluntary. Charge for running a book club make available more community events like coffe mornings charge a œ1.00 for overdue adult books
A small yearly membership fee perhaps. . Slightly less opening hours.
a) more hiring of library facilities to local groups and organisations and, where appropriate, charging fees to do so. A number of the libraries identified for potential cuts already have restricted opening hours. Hiring them out on days when they are not open could potentially raise worthwhile revenue, if it were publicised. b) introduce cafe facilities in libraries. These could either be run by the library services or, as with hospitals, let to commercial
providers. Either way, this would generate money especially as some of the libraries are not that close to catering establishments. c) provision of specialist services on a fee-based basis. This could include for example, assistance with genealogy for those interested in tracing their forebears or specialist research facilities using the wealth of information contained in the libraries.
Abandon Croydon 2012 as it looks like another waste of money Why do we need the david lean cinema?? The vue cinema is very close by and shows similar films. why is so much of the culture and leisure budget being spent on parks when very few people use them regularly? Libraries are used by all sections of the community and are a statutory service reduce council office accomodation - professional working from home service???
accepting donations of books, small fee for use of computers
Address the elimination of unnecessary and extortionate overheads in the service and right across the council departments. Advertise the benefits of Croydons Librarys
Advertising what our local library can offer, particularly in the new developments in the area. Looking at vountary help in conjuction with experienced librarians; using self service return and issuing of books machines as widely as possible; seeing if savings can be made over procurement of books, perhaps in conjunction with other nearby local authorities;
all libraries needed in the future so why not cut each and everyone by a fixed percentage now, so that when funds permit, they can be expanded once again.
All senior staff at Croydon Council should be asked to take a pay cut, or departments which are failing should be outsourced to private company's and public services such as Sanderstead Library should be left alone. 98K is probably the price of 1 Directors' salary. I think the positive impact of the library far outweights its running costs, which is the grand scheme of things is not a lot of money.
All the books should be concentrated at the Central Libraries that remain open and computer facilities should be opened in low cost shops Alternate opening times with Selsdon. Cut rubbish collection to fortnightly instead of penalising our children's educational services.
Although closures may be necessary there are implications for the existing service, if the residents of Croydon are to have anything like a good service following closures both staff and stock will need careful assessment.Before
closing service points please look at where else in the community the service could be provided by experienced and qualified staff.Apart from the value of a meeting point for the community l braries are a valued service for residents of all ages. Closures will have implications for the remaining services. Libraries are not only the books and the buildings but the expertise of the staff. There will be an increase in demand for housebound reader services by people who could attend a local library, but may not be able to travel to the next nearest service point. How will children's service activities be provided for children from the closed branches - extra school visits, more demand for pre-school sessions, holiday activities and the increased demand on stock? How will homework help support be provided- not all children have computers? Will there be a more integrated approach to the homework support services in schools so that children, who can no longer attend public library sessions, have access to a service at school possibly with some support from the library service.It would appear there will need to be staff to do more outreach work if the quality service in remaining branches is not to suffer.Will there be increased e-book licences to cover greater demand from people no longer near a service point. Some of the savings should be put into the remaining service points to keep a good book stock. I have seen ideas about using volunteers, as a qualified librarian, I hope there will be a place in the service for qualified experienced staff. There is a view that people who work in libraries, not all of whom are qualified l brarians, only read the books, a very erroneous view and I feel volunteers will discover that library work is not an easy option to sit and read books. Given that libraries became a statutory service 20 years before universal education, and literacy is seen to be an essental skill if not right of all children libraries would seem an essential service.
An alternative to closure of some l braries might be to consider restricting opening hours. Further savings could be made by looking at duplication of training courses. ie. Calat also provides computer training - does the l brary service also need to provide these courses?
An annual small membership fee.
An increase in the days when the local l brary is closed. An examination of the opening and closing times with the aim of reducing these. A look at the expenditure in terms of computers, etc, and the feasibility of some branches being more simply concerned with books and not information.
Annual charge for library card, say œ10.00 or a modest charge per book Any closure of Branch Libraries would be a false economy.
Any that don't involve the fragmentation of a community, and does not threaten the reading ability in children and lead to the isolation of elderly people. Local libraries have evolved over the years and are a lynchpin to local
communities. If this is taken away it would have a lasting effect on all age groups. Many people can not afford their own computers and rely on their local library for this. My children and grandchildren have become avid book readers because they are frequent users of their local l braries. If a library is not nearby people won't visit it as often, and if they do they will use their cars rather than walk.
anything but closing. Maybe a token entrance fee
Anything is better than closures! Perhaps some increases in charging or how about cancelling the pay increase local councillors voted themselves this year/cutting some councillors? Local people in Shirley feel very strongly about their l brary and would do much to ensure it's survival - proper local consultation is needed.
append coffee facilities to sanderstead to generate income
Apply for a grant from the lottery to upgrade Shirley library. Reduce the hours tjhe library is open, during the week, but keep the it open all day Saturday, allowing the use by people who work. Use volunteers to man the library, under supervision, on the weekends.
Are the books passed from Library to Library? If not, this should be done. Customers could be encouraged to pass on to the l brary good quality books they no longer need to save money(and trees). I am reluctant to accept fewer days of opening but this might have to be considered but with minimum loss of the excellent staff at Norbury. Norbury library is well used both during the day and after school and on Saturdays. The north of the borough is relatively poor and is increasingly affected by austerity measures. To shut the l brary is to penalise the least advantaged members of the borough.
As far as I can deduce, Bradmore Green l brary runs efficiently as it is. It is of relatively low cost for the hours of entertainment that the public gains from the service.
As far as I can see, there is always a shortage of staff to serve customers, so no saving could be made by reducing staff at service level. How about admin staff? Couldn't you reduce these staff on higher salaries? Also, while I see the point of doing the book trail,to encourage young readers, why give away so many freebies? Why a free DVD after so few books? Surely good money could be made on the rental of these DVDs in the holidays. Giving
them away free,deprives paying renters of the choice. Also I have visited the Croydon main library to find a cd on several occasions that is available on the catalogue, only to find it missing. As these are security protected who has the opportunity to steal them I wonder? How about opening fewer hours? Open later in the morning and have staff do an extra day/half day but a shorter normal day? Start charging for computer usage and computer lessons. Sell
more products that would be needed at the library by customers, like the post offices do.
As far as my children are concerned, I cannot put a price on the benefits that they both have gained from going to Sanderstead library on a regular basis. I don't think that either of them would have quite the passion for books and being read to if it were not for the amazing staff at Sanderstead library. In particular, xxxxxxxx (redacted staff names) who have always made them feel at so at home and comfortable at the library. Volunteers could in theory be used to replace some l brary staff, but would change the whole dynamic of the library. Let us not forget that many these staff have studied and trained to be professional librarians. It is not as easy as people think to run a library. Closure of Sanderstead Library would have a devastating effect on the area, as it really is the only community based venue within the vicinity. I feel these closures are very shortsighted and will impact negatively on the children and adults al ke who live around Sanderstead. I can't help thinking that the development potential of the site that sanderstead library is on will be taken into consideration when choosing which libraries to close, which is weigh against keeping this lovely library open.
As people to donate books that they have finished with.
As schools, we have to think about our own cost-saving initiatives and would expect libraries to be best-placed to make their own savings.
As was said by our MP at the recent consultation meeting, if necessary, reduce opening hours to make savings until the economic climate improves. If you close l braries, they will almost certainly be list forever. If (e.g.) closing ALL Croydon l braries, apart from the Central one, an extra day a week would help enable you to avoid closures, that would be a good solution. Using limited use of volunteer staff is also better than closures, if it saves some jobs
of professional staff. Also, why not encourage "Friends of..." type organisations to get involved in activities such as presenting (e.g.) evening events at libraries that could contribute funds to running costs. Personally, I (and I'm sure many others in my area) want to do whatever I can to save my library and I feel you should offer scope for this before making any final decisions.
Ask children from year 6 in local schhols to help in the librariesie story time and sorting books.
Ask for donations of top quality books from people. Ask for volunteers to help with tasks such as covering books in plastic. Use those who waste council money (people who smash bus shelters, fraudulently claim benefit, waste the time of 999 services etc) as labourers, e.g. to paint the libraries
Ask for donations towards the l brary on special books. Ask for more book donation.
Ask for people in the local community to donate any books that they no longer need. There could be a list of required/wanted books to stop lots of old duplicates/unwanted books. LArger fines for late returns. Maybe incorporate
other services...
Ask for volunteers
Ask for volunteers to help out at busy times
ask people to donate books as i gave just under 100 away before i joined to charity shops. whilst very wothwhile it still means potentially only one person gets to read the book whereas at a library it is possible hundreds. Ask private companies to sponsor a local library. Create a team of volunteer helpers. Reduce staff by one at each library. Make a bid for lottery funds.
Ask the leader of the council and the other Conservative Cabinet members to take a pay cut just like the other councillors that are not in power have had to rather than giving themselves an increase. Scrap the overly expensive
new council HQ.
Asking for good quality used or new book/dvd donations.
Assuming that staff are the major variable cost, investigate use of volunteer staff. Develop as a community centre - discuss with URC use of their car park - including eves and w/e to generate more custom and reduce unit costs, Assuming wages are the greatest expense, ask for local volunteers to do non-librarian tasks such as cleaning etc
At branch libraries,buy new books at longer intervals.
Automated checking out and checking in service. Online newspapers. Steeper fines for late returns.
Before this survey I did not realise how cheap our libraries were to run already. Leave core services alone and save the money on the grandiose cultural projects celebrating Croydon's "heritage" Better to cut back on opening hours. Once a building is closed it is closed for ever.
Better use of the facilities to generate revenue, and increase the footfall eg a community cafe, longer opening hours - particulary during working days.
Books taken out of circulation could be sold on Amazon to generate income
Bradmore Green is a pillar of the community. It is an attribute to see the old and the very young, among others,using the facility so well provided by Croydon Council. Closure would be devastating. Q1. Does the Council have to reduce the library budget or can savings be made elsewhere? Q2. Can the savings be spread between all the l braries to effect the savings?
bring commercial enterprises into the libraries e.g. rent space out to coffee shops, rent retail space for study related things such as wh smith for stationery, increase fines bring in a nominal charge for internet access.
Buy fewer books. Reduce opening hours. Offer use of facilities to outside groups for a fee.
Buy less copies of some books or buy less books. Buy new books only when 10 requests or more have been received for a certain book. Share books throughout the borough. Shorter opening hours? Introduce some form of charging for the loan of books? Introduce a cafe/gift shop to subsidise each branch of the library? This will encourage higher footfall in each branch as there are few meeting areas around that don't cost a lot of money to frequent ie coffee shops - their rates are very high for what basically is a cafe!
Buying less copies of one particular book, and then making the few (or one) avalibale free to reserve. Spending less on childrens books (as the stories do not appear to really change, just modernise). Can increase fines.
Cancel the vanity project of building new council offices. Cease publishing the Council Croydon paper which hardly anybody reads. Open all libraries on a part time bases except the Central library Look closely at the salaries of
upper management stop so called bonuses. Only pay councilliors and leaders out of pocket expenses. Simplify the procedure for removing fly tipping. When it is reported just pick it up instead of employing a officer to inspect it then send in a report.
Canvas users & adapt opening hours to suit local requirements, thereby reducing staffing level requirements.
Change the opening hours - I've never understood why l braries have to be open almost every morning. Norbury could be open from 2.30pm - 7.30pm. Schoolchildren and people who are retired or not working could still use the library in the afternoons, and people (like me) who work full time in central London could still use the l brary on the way home in the evenings.
Changing opening hours and perhaps rotating staff between l braries
Charge 10p to take out a book. Charge for the activities at the sure start centres . These should not be for free unless you receive benefits. charge a little more for rental of DVDs, internet. Keep books free Reduce opening hours
charge a membershp fee hold events / meetings hire it out ask for volunteers to mend books, put books back on shelves use people on community service to work there offer work experience to students / young people for cv
have a shop to sell older books set up coffee shop sell coffee and cake whilst you read. collection tins in the community sponsorship from business
CHARGE A NOMINAL YEARLY SUBSCRIBTION SAY œ5. ENSURE ALL "FINES" ARE COLLECTED IF PARTICULAR EVENTS ARE HELD CHARGE NOMINAL FEES FOR THESE SAY œ1
Charge a pound for each visit to subsidise the cost. Have people volunteering. CHarge a small annual fee for joining the library e.g œ2 per person or increase fines.
Charge a small annual membership fee. Or have a small cost for borrowing items rather than just a late return fee.
charge a small fee for a book 20p - 50p as you do for dvd or cds, the life of a book is very short especially children's books. Have a swap a book/DVD/CD day and charge a small fee for buying a book. Charge a small fee to attend children's sessions if you need to. Impose charges for late return of children's books if necessary.
charge an annual membership fee (œ2.50) to all adults except under 18's and OAP's Charge annual fee of œ10 to be a library user.
Charge customers much more for overdue books and DVDs. Charge families an annual fee of œ10 to use their local library. Charge families an annual fee to use the l brary
Charge families for using the library
Charge families œ10 pa to be a library user.
charge for computer use, children's and adult events, like story time, rhyme time etc. 10p charge for each book taken out.
charge for computer useage - i.e. œ1 per hour charge for DVD's etc. charge to have books sent from other libraries charge to reserve books run them more efficiently - I often see several members of staff doing very little. open up the rooms not used and charge for community use - meetings, theatre group rehearsals, classes etc.
Charge for services - Charge for room hire Provide coffee service Many more PCs - charge for use Provide community centre facilites Hand service to local consortium to run as independent library Franchise to consortium of local businesses
charge for some services shorter opening times (but with at least one evening/weekend session) use the facilities for commercial use also charge for using computers. close libraries on sat.s increase fine charges
charge late fees for children's books...
Charge more for late returns and make a charge for every book borrowed. Make the library more business orientated in raising some money to assist with covering some costs Charge more for overdue books
Charge more for overdue books, charge nominal sums for events,
Charge more for services such as DVD rental and reservations. While not saving money, it would increase revenue. charge small amount for books
charge the customers to borrow books,not too much. Severe penalities for returning late.charge to use computers. Let spare rooms for public functions. Charge to borrow CDs
Charging adults a small annual fee, or increasing fines for late returns of items.
Charging more for late returns and hiring CDs and DVDs. Charge more for events and involve the local community more. Children related add-ons. Energy efficient lightbu bs. Renegotiating supplier contracts.
chris gascoyne actor in coronation st has haltedclosure of his library he loves and indeed set him on rd too acting aand dramaintially,by suggesting reducing hrsi make him riiightand as ,he states the council do not understandthe effect closure means both to our loved staff and ourselves reducing hrs would save money without causing deep deep deep upset
clamping down on collecting fines, getting books donated, running sponsored events, having a greater online presence so reducing the need for members of staff in the building/making it easier for more people to use. Clearly the Sanderstead site should be redeveloped for a library with flats with a private developer. This would provide money and a new library on a large under-used site.
Close Broad Green l brary. Close each library two working days a week. Do not open any l braries on a Sunday.
Close Coulsdon and Purley
Close every library one or two days a week.Everyone would then have access to a local library on most days. Central Croydon library should also be closed on Saturdays as some information sections are unavailable then and is very quiet in other sections.
Close for longer periods of time.
close lost making department or merge two department together.
Close one day extra a week, shorter working days. Small charge for use of computer, say 50p. Close central libary except for reference section.
Close ones that have proven track record of little to no use to save money - partially move funding from closed l brary to improve facilities of alternative library. Provide transport services to elderly and infirm who need assistance getting to other libraries within a mile of the closed one. Or alternatively invest in a mobile library to take books to schools and the elderly, this negates the argument that l braries would become inaccessible.
Close the central library which is difficult to access, has no parking and is a showcase close the least used library.
Close the library 2 or more days a week,but please do not close library altogether. Could the libraries be rented out to local groups for meetings or discussions. Could local WEA or other organisations hire the library for evening
classes. Make small yearly charge to customers.
close the library on one more day a week.
Close the minor libraries, keep open the central l brary, keep the local studies / history room as an important resource, cut down on internet machines if necessary Close them
close them a extra 2 days a week and rotate staff to other branches Close two days a week but open longer in an evening one day a week.
Closing down a big l brary, such as Selsdon, normally no atmosphere there, difficult to get to, and parking's awful. And in that space it could easily be changed straight away to something else without any building work. closing each library one extra day a week?
Closing one extra day per week
Closing them on one more day of the week, but not closing them all together
closing up to two that are not very busy (ie bradmore green and Sanderstead) and selling old stock...maybe get sponsership from book companies or publishers for new authors.. Closure of a library where there is a larger facility within the same radius
Closure of less used l braries not most used.
Closure of New Addington library, its time that part of the borough was treated the same as the rest of us.
COLLECT BOOK FINES ON MISSING BOOKS. THE LEVEL OF THEFT SHOULD BE PUBLICISED. MILK LOCAL SOCIETIES FOR OUT-OF-HOURS MEEETING FEES. CHARGE a nomimal sum for Neigbourhood Partnership
Meetings. I live in the postcode area.
Co-locating them with schools. Have a few mobile libraries to cover those off main routes, unable to travel or have access to intermet. Co-location with other council services?
Community intervention. Suspect Sanderstead has a strong community backing who would enthusiastically give time & money to retain this service. Community Library would assist non closure of Sanderstead
Community volunteers sharing working hours with l brary with joint community and local authority governance.
Concentrating library provision/resources with local learning education and training facilities.
Consider a nominal annual membership fee Levy a charge for previously 'free' events Train volunteers to staff libraries thus gradually reducing staffing costs as natural attrition occurs Consider hiring out library premises to other groups out of hours However, in order to put these proposals in context, I would like to see what other cuts you are a) proposing and b) making. In addition to the above, I would also like to know what your policy is regarding
temporary/contract staff as I believe (from my own experience in making substantial NHS savings) that there are some easy wins here. I would also be interested in a review of all staff on flexi or term time contracts ? what happens to their duties when they are not working? Are these arrangements cost effective or are they masking areas that really do not require so many staff? I am also interested in benefits that staff receive ? for example, do you
run a flexi-time scheme and if so, how is this monitored? My own experience of such schemes is that the amount that people ?work? outside of their contracted hours (i.e. in order to accrue flexi time) is not actively ? if at all ? monitored and therefore open to abuse. I would be interested to know if you have considered much these flexi days truly cost? Equally, are there any other staff subsidies that can be cut? I appreciate that these are all unpalatable solutions and l kely to incur the wrath of staff and unions alike, However, I would have though that most people would be grateful to have secure employment and also to have retained important community services?
In order to truly comment on the proposed cuts, I believe that far more information is needed ? not just to set the context but to show how you arrived at the savings totals, what stats you have regarding usage demographic of the proposed closure sites etc. and would like these to me made public.
Consider reducing the excessive management that exists within the council and the waste created by using expensive consultants to generate short term and unsustainable ideas. This is not rocket science.
Consider shutting libraries for one or even two days per week. This would retain the local facilities while saving money. Make sure that adjacent libraries cover closure days. Look at staff levels- maybe there could be some savings- do they need all the students at weekends- maybe shorter weeks would mean other librarians can cover. Staff may have be flexible but is somethign we all have to be receptive of in the current climate.
consolidate the resources to have fewer but more libraries with a wider range of resources.
Could ask local people to donate their books once finished. As a commuter I also buy a large number of paperbacks which at the moment I donate at the station as they resell them for charity. Could close up to 2 - 3 days a week instead of one day.
Could the library be hired out for use for local groups outside library hours? More publicity could be made to attract other users to the internet access provided and maybe a small charge incurred for use outside the main library hours.
Councillliors could take a pay cut or freeze. New books could be limited to 1 or 2 copies rather than buying several. Perhaps increase the cost of fines. Maybe make a nominal charge for some activities even charge a œ1 or œ2 to participate in the book trail as so many children get such a lot out of this.
Councillors pay, costs of running the Council Offices. focus on the admin costs for the Council rather than public services. Councillors working as volunteers - i.e. not take money.
Creating Apprentice posts in l brarys could contribute towards saving money. Several young people are unemploymed therefore creating these positions would go towards helping young people. Another alternative could be to
work alongside Job centre plus to enable people who have never worked/just come off benefits or been employed for a long period of time to work on a voluntary basis therefore enabling them to fill a gap on their cv and provide a current reference for future emoloyment.
Croydon branch libraries and their stock have been run down over the past few years to such an extent that there is very little left to save.
Croydon can save money elsewhere and not use the libraries a a scapegoat for spending cuts. Use some of the money in the council's savings account instead, or otherwise pay the councillors less salary. If you have to do it, then maybe man Sanderstead with volunteers on a rota basis, with a quailified l brarian in charge.
Croydon council should retain a branch library in the heart of each community but perhaps the opening hours could be reduced across the whole library service as a means of reducing costs. Once a library is closed it is unlikely to reopen at a future date. However, reducing the hours would allow for essential community facilities to remain until such time as more suitable, less expensive properties/locations can be found to house the libraries. If high
maintenance costs are the main reason for these libraries being threatened with closure then perhaps the council should reconsider replacing Interserve with a more cost effective maintenance company.
Croydon TUC rejects all the options indicated by the Council in its library consultation questionnaire for the following reasons: Britain is one of the richest countries in the world, with the sixth largest economy. Therefore we can afford vital public services ? if we tax the 10 per cent of the population who own 44 per cent of Britain?s total wealth (including private pension wealth) estimated in 2006/08 at nine œtrillion by the Office for National Statistics.
Closing the deficit (now under œ155 billion) within five years, moreover, could be done without slashing public services or raising VAT ? and enable expenditure on them to increase ? by: ? A two per cent wealth tax on the richest 10 per cent (revenue œ78 billion a year) ? A 20 per cent tax on the super-profits of banking, energy, retail, arms and drug monopolies (revenue œ16 billion) ? Ending tax dodging by the super-rich and big business (revenue œ70 billion a year) ? A ?Robin Hood? tax on City transactions (revenue œ30 billion a year) ? Withdrawing British troops from Afghanistan (saving œ4 billion a year) ? Scrapping plans for post-Trident nuclear weapons (saving œ76
billion) ? A one per cent land value tax instead of the regressive council tax (revenue œ50 billion a year) Indeed even before implementing any new taxation, the current tax gap in the UKm between that collected and that avoided, evaded or merely uncollected is œ120 billion per year. This would wipe out the perceived deficit in almost one year. However more staff in the department that deals with this, the HMRC, are to be made redundant. It is therefore apparent that the libraries are closing as a result of an ideologically driven attack on the poor and working people of the UK. Moreover, if the above policies were implemented, the 28 per cut in central government
grants to councils during the next four years would not be necessary. Hence Croydon Council would not have to make spending cuts of œ90 million; and the Council would be able to increase expenditure on libraries and all the other services it is proposing to cut. Finally, as we agree with Cabinet members when they state that do not wish to make these cuts, we urge all councillors to refuse to carry out them out and call on the government to implement the above alternative policies proposed by the trade unions. Following the above recommendations, would have the support of a broad alliance of people in the borough and provide much better services to the deserving people
of Croydon.
Customers running sessions, donation of books Cut back on couinciller expences and pay.
Cut back on the huge amount of money Croydon Council gives, yes gives, to illegal immigrants and endless streams of foreigners coming into the borough.... an absolute disgrace all in the name of Human Rights, etc.
Cut back on the leaflets that are printed for children, as most of them are not taken. Overhall the building properly instead of patching them up. Get rid of the library manager as they are not needed in every library.
cut back the hours they open rather than close them. It would be sad, but preferrable to actual closure. I can walk to my local library in Sanderstead and value that tremendously. The contact I enjoy there is so valued as a retired person. I have had help with computer skills from the staff- so important these days. My grandson loves the children's sessions, already loving books thanks to the library provision.
cut benefits
Cut benefits for lazy people. Cut goverment wages
Cut council bureaucracy, save money there and invest it in libraries.
Cut Croyden council wages - I believe they recently got a pay increase. Get rid of Croydon councillors free parking in the area. Cut Croydon Council's executive pay by 50% - that would keep several branches open.
Cut down on the number of computers and internet facilities. Increase loan charges for DVDs and CDs. Reduce the number of magazines available for loan.
Cut out DVDs and music - there are many other ways to access these nowadays. Concentrate on books,ebooks and paper copies
Cut out the layers and layers of managers, reduce all pointless statistic finding etc to allow staff to work, increase children into the library and books rather then the standard OAPs to increase customers and revenue. Make the libraries a place for all.
cut spending to schools
Cut staff numbers and terms and conditions. Cut waste and bureaucracy, not services. Stop sending looked after children to school by taxi. Stop claiming expenses.
Cut the number of staff at the Central Library. I visited on Saturday and there were 4 people on Customer services and 2 on checking out books, they were not busy in my view. Cut the opening days/hours for one or more libraries. This would be a big saving and users could easily adapt without losing the facility.
Cut the pay of anyone who works for the council who earns more than thirty thousand pounds with bigger cuts for the highest earners. I live comfortably on less than thirty thousand pounds and own my own home so others shoud be able to do the same!
Cut the senior management structure (throughout the council, not just libraries) to free up funds for the staff who have direct dealings with the customers. Set up a membership facility as for the leisure centres, requesting an
annual fee say, to use the facilities. Charge a modest amount for use of the PCs. Divert the 34% pay increase that the councillors awarded themselves to help provide the vital facilities that the libraries offer. Allow the sale of tea
& coffee for a profit. Hire out the facilities to external groups. Allow private and business advertisements on the library notice board for a small charge.
Cut the wages of all the highest paid council staff and all councillors. Remove the highly paid jobs that do not serve any useful purpose. Remember that the council is there to serve the residents of Croydon not to promote their own scehemes. How about cancelling the redevelopment of Taberner House? How many libraries could you run on the cost of that?
Cut the wages of top council officials, trim their expenses and put the money into libraries.
Cut unnecessary expenses such as Council Headquarters. Nobody seems to take into account the human cost of closing libraries: redundancies, no meeting point, no computer access, no newspapers. Croydon Council would be totally irresponsible and only save pennies whilst it is squandering thousands.
Cut unnecessary non core facilities at the Katherine Street location, but leave the local libraries, there are alternatives to the museum and cinema, but not to a local library Cut waste Cut top salaries in the council. Is Leader REALLY worth more than PM? REALLY engage with residents who are waking up to the sham of these cuts
Cutting down on library opening hours to alternate morning / afternoon opening times. Cutting down on opening times, renting out resources (large room above Norbury library). Cutting pay and expenses of MPs, Councillors and Council Bosses
Cutting staff, cutting opening hours per day, letting parts of the premises, with a caretaker and member of library staff present for interesting out of hours activities, particularly if the libraries are open for reduced hours, advertising and running book clubs with refreshments at a charge, targetting the elderly and under fives at all times and school age children during the school holidays and charging for these services. I would pay as a Pre School to continue the link with the children's librarian if this facility was chargeable to all early years groups and schools. I have attended free events about authors in the evening. I may well join an advertised book club. I would not expect these facilities to be free.
Cutting the salaries of higher positions within the council. Refurbish Tabener House instead of rebuilding. Offer other services as well - opportunities for other local businesses maybe cafes/post offices in the same building? Dare I suggest a nominal œ1 or œ2 fee for the issue of a library card renewable every year. Under 16s and OAPS exempt. Not enough to deter users but would raise some revenue. Not sure what costs would be though or what the legalities are.
David Cameron, speaking on the Andrew Marr programme on BBC1 on 9th January, stated that any local government savings should not be made from front line services, but other departments within the authority. The public library movement came into being to educate and inform those who did not have access to resources in any other way, and this is still the case today. Croydon should be looking to improve and extend the service, not curtail it. In
the review of library building network I can find no mention of the Public Libraries and Museums Act (1964) which imposes a statutory duty to provide a comprehensive l brary service to residents within the borough. As a Selsdon resident my main concern is the effect that the closure of Sanderstead Library would have on Selsdon Library. The staff there provide an extremely good service and do their utmost to cope with the demands on the resources
now, how will they be able to cope with the added pressures on the stock, computers and study facilities from customers transferring from Sanderstead ? Will you consider opening Selsdon on a Wednesday to give users a greater choice of opening hours? What provision will be made for the five schools now using Sanderstead Library, now that Croydon no longer has a mobile facility. The review points out that Sanderstead Library is only 1 mile from Selsdon, but there is no mention of Shirley Library being the same distance from the library in West Wickham. Could not some arrangement be made with Bromley Council for Shirley customers to use this facility? I hope
that Croydon Council have made arrangements for open discussion forums for all these proposed closures before any decisions are made.
Delete some of the extra services and perhaps close one more day a week. Different opening hours and self check in/out machines
Dissolve Croydon council, take away pay from all Croydon employees. Give the monies raised from Council tax to each individual ward for us to decide how it is best spent. To stop wasting money on poor services. It would be best if Croydon Council was closed down though as they suck all the money into the white elephant that is Croydon Town centre. The hub of all criminal activity. A boil on the landscape that should be lanced. Step down Councilor Mike Fisher. You are not welcome here.
Divert the 34% pay increase that the councillors awarded themselves to help provide the vital facilities that the l braries offer. Cut the senior management structure (throughout the council, not just libraries) to free up funds for the staff who have direct dealings with the customers. Allow time for the library restructure, due to commence 01/04/11, to bed in before making further cuts. Limit the number of books purchased that are of limited appeal -
some copies have zero issues. Revisit the strategy of purchasing multiple copies of books, eg. Richard & Judy, that have a limited time span appeal. Purchase fewer Mills & Boon books. Charge the realistic cost of inter- library loans, including postage. Avoid additional ILL charges by not renewing such loans. Set up a membership facility as for the leisure centres, requesting an annual fee say, to use the facilities. Charge a modest amount for use of the PCs. Ban printing of all but the most necessary of information. Most is online. Cut wastage of printing posters & booklets which often arrive after the advertised event. Gain sponsorship from big names, e.g. Tesco,
in return for advertising that sponsorship. Allow the sale of tea & coffee for a profit. Hire out the facilities to external groups. Sell stationery instead of giving it away. This could include envelopes, paper, pens, wallets, etc. Allow private and business advertisements on the l brary notice board for a small charge.
Divert the 34% pay increase that the councillors awarded themselves to help provide the vital facilities that the l braries offer. Cut the senior management structure (throughout the council, not just libraries) to free up funds for the
staff who have direct dealings with the customers. Allow time for the library restructure, due to commence 01/04/11, to bed in before making further cuts. Limit the number of books purchased that are of limited appeal - some copies have zero issues. Revisit the strategy of purchasing multiple copies of books, eg. Richard & Judy, that have a limited time span appeal. Purchase fewer Mills & Boon books. Charge the realistic cost of inter-l brary loans, including postage. Avoid additional ILL charges by not renewing such loans. Set up a membership facility as for the leisure centres, requesting an annual fee say, to use the facilities. Charge a modest amount for use of the PCs. Ban printing of all but the most necessary of information. Most is online. Cut wastage of printing posters & booklets which often arrive after the advertised event. Gain sponsorship from big names, e.g. Tesco, in return for advertising that sponsorship. Allow the sale of tea & coffee for a profit. Hire out the facilities to external groups. Sell stationery instead of giving it away. This could include envelopes, paper, pens, wallets, etc.
Do anything but close the libraries, these places are essential to the education of our children and therefore the future of our country.
Do not close any l braries completely. Keep all open, but for, say, three days per week and rotate remaining staff in these libraries, grouping them so staff do not have far to travel.This applies particularly to childrens' libraries which are vital for our children. Stop buying CDs and DVDs which are freely available in shops and severely limit book purchases, especially pulp fiction and the more extravagantly priced books. Take advantage of remaindered sales, etc. Turn heating down in all libraries. Consult staff for further suggestions for savings. As a user for 70 years I would hate to see the community deprived of these facilities.
Do not give free newspapers. Hirer fines for overdue books. Charge for damages
Do not spend money on rubbish books for adults. In particular, do not spend money on expensive editions of these books as they come out. Concentrate your money on good books and facilities for children and adults in education and seeking to improve themselves. I object to the "do nothing" solution. There are huge savings to be made in expenditure on popular fiction and the l ke; and huge savings to be made on your central bureaucracy.
Halve the central management of the library service and keep your libraries open.
Do other times like closing for say two to three days a week or just doing mornings or afternoons. Having volenteers if I was able bodied I would be willing to help
Donate a book scheme, i know lots of people who buy books and dont know what to do with them drop off points for books at offices would be good this could also be done with dvds. Cinema like evenings could also be run. A donation pot at libraries could be good or charge people a pound for a years membership, this is not a lot of money. Rent out rooms to local businesses for conferences, meetings or social events.
Donation of books to l braries and advertisement of such a scheme biannually. Donations from members of the public.
Don't attack libraries, they seem to be easy targets for cuts. Once these small libraries have done they will never return, and the heart will have been taken out of many of these communities, where there is no other social centre.
Instead look at your employees that are earning œ100,000 +, and see if they should really be earning such vast amounts of money, when the country is in this so called financial crisis.
Don't axe l braries what about opening just a couple of days during the week? Don't buy any new books for a while.
dont close any. lots of people are out of work and use the library for resources and to job search. Closing l brarys would not be beneficial to the public and would only cause more problems. Alot of people dont have the money for travelling purposes so would loose out on library facilities. Another way to save money is for the general public to donate books instead of buying them in new. If the books are in good condition they can be lent out. Alot of people buy a new book and only read them once. Therefor the general librarys wouldnt need to buy certain books and would allow you to sell more of the old books of the shelf therefor gaining a (small profit
Don't have enough information re. the running of the libraries. dont know
Don't pay the leader of the council so much money. Put part of his salary into keeping all 6 libraries. You have let South Norwood l brary get far too run down, just as you have the area as a whole. You have reduced the opening
hours beyond a reasonable amount. Do not now close it completely.
Don't penalise local libraries which serve their communities, rather reduce a bit from the Central Library complex, i.e. reduce extraneous facilities, cut back on cinema and museum, i.e. non core activities, we don't want to have to leave our neighbourhood for routine use of a library.
Dont rebuild Taberner house.
Don't understand why Purley library is not an option for closure. I do not use this library as it has never suited my needs. Giving circumstances libraries such as Croydon Central that are open for a 6 day week could close for one day during the course of Monday to Friday.
economise on heating
eless hoursither paying for use of internetgood idpopen less hoursaying for paying for use of internet open
Encourage greater use of libraries for small groups and by schools during opening hours. Consider using for after school clubs, homework clubs and other conmmunity use during the evenings. encourage more people to come
energy saving lights
Energy sving lights. Turn heating down. Sell old books. Double Glaze windows.
Enourage sponsership from local businesses. Ask for a small yearly subscription from ticket holders. Make them a focal point for local people by offering groups: book clubs, knitting circles, story sessions etc, particpants paying a SMALL (œ1 or œ2) fee to attend. Poss set up local hist society presence Q &A. Coffee shop with papers & books - Waterstones and Costa Coffee seem to make money!
Enter into agreements with major stores for sponsorship or like Selsdon sell existing l braries for redevlopment but with a clause that a mew library must be built within the development. It also appears from when visiting Central L brary that a lot of the staff are not busy unlike Purley library where the staff are always busy dealing with customers
Events, community integration, efficient heating/ventilation systems and early preventative building maintenance
Eventually they have to be online, using the mail for delivery and return. I can't see any other future. But the eventual savings would involve a substantial start-up cost.
Except the central library, the others could close two days a week instead of one. The library service would improve if libraries in an area reasonably close to each other e.g. Coulsdon, Purley and Selsdon closed on different days so giving customers better access on any day. This could be right across the borough, it would be easy to work out!
Extend and refurbish Coulsdon L brary before thinking about closing Bradmore Green.
External sponsorship from local or national businesses. This could support not only the supply of stock, but specific activities within the libraries, eg reading groups, children's activities.
Fewer computers. Have a Wi-Fi zone so people can bring their laptops and work on a computer that way. Cut 'services' such as Citizens Advice Bureaux, crŠches, mother and toddler groups, t'ai chi and fitness classes. These things already exist.
Fewer paid staff, less overheating
Finding partnership with local business's/schools who may want to subsidise the cost of the l brary. Have a coffee shop. Focus more on the books and information services rather than peripheral leisure activities -i.e.CDs computer games etc.
For smaller libraries: Open afternoons only - This would cater for children of school age and would still enable 'older people' to use these facilities. Libraries are quieter in the mornings as children are at school. Alternatively
opening 3 or 4 days a week as apposed to the current 5 to 6 days. This would also give a huge saving.
Forget lending out CDs and DVDs - more and more people are using rental and download services l ke lovefilm and iTunes. Could charge a very small fee to be a member each year. The number of people who are members would create quite a revenue. More chargeable events at libraries.
Fortnightly refuse collections - our wheelie bin is hardly ever full from week to week. People should be encouraged to recycle, reduce waste, compost and generally consider how they deal with domestic waste.
Fund raising days / jumble sales to raise funds etc
fund raising events such as, cake sales, old book sales, limit the number of books you can have out at any one time and if they wont more books out them get them to pay a small fee. fundraising activites within the local communities to help provide more money for the libraries
Fundraising to the general public, asking Waitrose or other local businesses to sponsor the library. The Great Society ideal does not bear well with the closure of libraries.
Fundraising. Organising LEISURE ACTIVITIES WHICH PEOPLE WOULD BE WILLING TO PAY FOR. making and selling things. PEOPLE COULD DO CARD MAKING, KNITTING, CROCHET AND SELL THESE ITEMS.
SPONSERS AT SCHOOL ETC TO RAISE MONEY EG SPONSERED WALK ETC. QUIZ night, RAFFLE ETC. Bazaar people can sell items. Sell food dishes etc
General manager for a group of libraries instead of per library
Get a business like starbucks to open a concession in there to help pay for it
Get companies to sponsor libraries - exploit their sense of corporate responsibility. Is there potential for children's libraries to be based in local schools, combining school resources with LA ones? Create a 'Friends of' scheme to help fund raise for libraries. Examine the on costs that Croydon Council charge libraries. I am told this is about 46% of the library's budget, against a national average of less than 20%. If this is the case, the Council need to explain where that money is being spent.
get mums to do rotas...coffee and cake tell stories etc
get people locally to work voluntarily for the library and reduce the staffs on payroll.
Get private companies to sponsor a local library. Bid for lottery funds. Reduce staff by one at each location.
Get rid of a load of councillors, who provide no benefit. reduce the pay of M ke Fisher - i see no justification in his salary, especially as he has awarded himself an increase. http://www.croydonguardian.co.uk/archive/2010/06/30/News_Croydon+%28news%29/8243991.Croydon_councillors_to_vote_themselves_whopping_pay_rises/ Stop filling and remove non - jobs in the council. For example in
the vacancies this week https://www.remote- trent.croydon.gov.uk/tlive_web/wrd/run/ETREC107GF.open?VACANCY_ID%3d07410555cj%1BUSESSION=C3C3EF5020AE11E0A9B3DDE3FE9AE645&WVID=46947220BG&LANG=USA this one is unnecessary and
œ4000 / day in Cannes http://www.croydonguardian.co.uk/archive/2010/11/17/News_Croydon+%28news%29/8669128.Council_to_spend 4_000_a_day_for_Cannes_conference/ After this has been done then look at cutting
front line services
Get rid of all of the computers and buy more books. A lot of the books in the library are out of date. If there were more contemporary, relevant books I think that more people would use the facility. How much does it cost to install and maintain one computer? And how many people can use that computer at any one time compared with the number of people who could use the books that could be bought with the same amount of money? Also, as a child I remember how important the library was to me, my learning and later on my studies. It is imposs ble to explore a subject on the internet when you don't know what you're looking for. With books, you can go to the relevant section and discover topics and areas that you may not have considered. Basically, the computers should go. If there are people in the community who don't have access to the internet there should be a separate facility for them and it should not come out of the library budget.
Get rid of all the nonsense diversity officers, five a day planners, equality czars etc. that really cost the council money before even thinking of cutting community services such as libraries. I guarantee I could see the list of all items that the council spends money on and identify which are superfluous.
Get rid of high-level management staff, work with other london boroughs to reduce costs and reduce need for high-level management posts. Provide space in l brary that is hireable to local groups
Get rid of non statutory services, such as the david lean cinema, public halls , mela. Intimes of cutbacks, concentrate on STATUTORY SERVICES whcih include libraries. Croydon is a hugh borough - RETAIN LOCAL LIBRARIES.
get rid of the Council - it is misguided to cut libraries
Get rid of the excess of computers and childrens' activities and concentrate on what libraries were originally intended for - To borrow books and for quiet reading. get rid of the healthy hub and exbox in central library - popped in the other day when i had five minutes left on my ticket and couldnt believe the waste i saw there.
Get rid of the paid staff in Shirley Library. Close Shirley Library. The staff in there are useless. They are rude and unhelpful and they don't know anything about books. All they do is sit around talking. Shut all the small
libraries down especially Shirley Library as nobody takes books out of this library anyway. Residents of Shirley should go to Ashburton L brary instead. Close down Shirley Library and turn it into a community centre which would benefit the whole of the community and run local keep fit class's and job finding class's there.
Get rid of those council functions that serve no useful purpose to the community. Evaluate your staff numbers and remove any inefficient and redundant staff by natural non replacement and retrain-relocate those dedicated and
necessary staff members
Get ride of toy and mobile l braries, as this consumes, a varse amout of money,and helps a smaller group of people.
Get Sainsburys to pay for them out of their 'Charity funds', they make enough money out of mums doing a bit of shopping while their kids are in the l brary
Get sponsored days somehow. Find ways to involve local businesses to fund book, dvd etc purchases. Get local business to use rooms within the l braries for meetings, and for marketing events.
Get sponsorship. Other areas are doing this. Get Costa or Starbucks to go into Central library or Purley etc and use that money to keep open other l braries. I have concerns that this process is likely to spark more feedback from the engaged community in the south of the borough who will just vote for the northern libraries to close, while it is the young people of the north of the borough who need access to libraries and encouragement. How is
Croydon going to address this as part of this consultation?
Get the community involved and see what ideas people can come up with to save money for the l brary. Also speak to the staff that work there and find out their ideas. Get volunteers in.
halve the number of local councillors; abandon building of new Taberner House; abandon propaganda- Your Croydon etc; leave our lovely school as single form entry; cut back on Christmas lights poppies on lamposts etc; less
supply teachers used in schools; Sack the people that dream up the idea of closing l braries!!!!!
Have a pay freeze my son has not had a pay rise for 4 years.. Charge more to people that use council property like schools for other activites ie religious ones.
Have a profit-making shop or cafe in the library. Maybe have an extra half day closing and open the l brary up for talks or classes where the profits are shared with the l brary. There have been successful talks in my local library which could have been more expensive. Maybe have more commercial advertising on the notice boards and charge for it. Rent out wall space for local artists to sell work (on commission). In the case of Norbury library, there is a wonderful hall space above the library which isn't being used at all! I remember this space from when I was a child - it was used for dance classes. Couldn't this be rented out?
Have a recycling scheme, whereby people are actively encouraged to donate unwanted books in good condition to their local l brary. Perhaps close on two days during the week (e.g. Mondays and Wednesdays), if there is no alternative.
Have a small charge for internet use. Increase fines for overdue books. Make spare space/rooms available for hire. Charge for IT training courses. L braries are a great place to advertise other services provided by the council,
make the most of the information boards and leaflet racks to promote to a captive audience. Advertise rooms for hire/workshops to attend/arts and cultural events taking place, run by the council. The annual booktrail is a great event. Try to link it in with childrens book signings/launches and get backing/sponsorship from local authors/book shops
Have a small membership fee of a year could increase cost and everyone should be happy if they an afford it. Have a voluntary donation box for the running of in all l braries
Have a wider variety and more books available in the already established digital library. Close libraries for an extra day per week. Use volunteers to staff library.
Have at least 2 self-checkout machines available in all branches and reduce staff by 1-2. Reduce the hours to the afternoon 12-6 or 12-7 Have groups pay a small fee for specialist sessions. Have ebooks on-line for down-loading.
Have members of the public donate unwanted books in good condition. Charge more for late returns of books - I would happily pay an extra œ5 in council tax to keep South Norwood L brary open! Ask businesses to sponsor libraries in return they get free advertising (no controversial alcohol or tobacco brands). Ask every council tax payer what services they want (not everyone has a computer and can check this website)
Have more people to work as volunteers .
Have the library open more at end of school day but maybe less during the morning. Get books donated by public/business, either new or nearly new. Having a coffee shop to subsidise the cost. Have people volunteering on some days to save cost.
Having a donation box for attending the library. Hiring out the library for small events or to small businesses for children's activity groups, ie. music, drama, arts and crafts etc
having events in the library where there is a small charge for those attending, people would still go as the charge is only small but it will also generate some money for the librar.y
Having libraries open for 4 days a week instead of 5 would automatically save 20% on the staffing costs. OK will make no difference to maintenance costs for the building, though it would reduce the electricity and heating costs. Where's the further comments box? There's a further comments box on the paper version but not on the online version.
Having visited Purley and Coulsdon libraries recently, I think that they are well run and I can't think of any money-saving ideas.
Heavier fines on overdue books.
Heftier fines for late returns. Maybe shorter opening times would be preferable to closures.
Higher charges for late returns of books would provide some extra funds, or alternatively you could start to charge people for their l brary cards? Maybe œ10 for your first card, and if you lose it then you would have to pay again? I think that children should have free access to the library however.
Hire out available rooms to other groups eg local organisations, RSPB, WI, Residents associations for meetings/events ,etc Hire them out.
Hold events such as talent shows or barbaques. Charge for tickets and products.
Hours or days open could be reduced if necessary with a sharing of staff between l braries. This would surely both reduce costs and the number of redundancies overall as opposed to closing completely the facilities. An increase in CD/DVD rental fees could be introduced.
How about as a compromise opening it 3/4 days a week? Provide it with a revenue stream, l ke putting a small post office in there.
How about making money? Coffee shop or drop in centre for groups - mums and toddlers, elderly or older students? It is not always about saving money.
I absolutely dispute the need for cuts, which I believe is politically rather than financially motivated (by the government in the first instance rather than the council), and feel they should be fought rather than given into. If savings must be made, then it should not be through closure of these wonderful resources. I would rather they opened less often but still provided their vital services. I believe the council should value them as others do and not be so swift to dismantle something so important to people, especially the younger generations who would once again lose out on all the advantages we have had.
I am against closure of libraries.
I am not sure what I would do to save money. If a service is to be provided there is an associated cost. The only real option is to close the least used libraries or perhaps re-locate them to less expensive buildings
I am suggesting that Croydon libraries can extend the digital l brary, so even when their local library is closed, they can easily get access to books on the digital library. Moreover, libraries don't need to expand more spaces/bookshelves because they can store books on Internet instead. I'm thinking this can help library save money and readers will not lose too much.
I appreciate cuts have to be made, and understan my suggestion would not cut much from the running costs of the l braries, but perhaps if many branches were to be cut to a 3 day week. Surely better for local l braries to stay
where they are - and for staff to be offered part-time work, than no job. Can the libraries not be incorporated with/moved to share with any other Council Offices close by even? Once these buildings are sold - and the economy stabilizes in the future, I fear the danger will be far fewer local libraries for ever - and this is not an acceptable move forward for future generations.
I assume one of the largest costs is staff salaries. Perhaps you could supplement paid staff with volunteers - there would be lots of issues to be addressed here - but perhaps its worth considering
I believe libraries are a sign of a civilised society and I am not sure that money should be saved on libraries; perhaps additional spending on more and newer books would encourage further customers. The Council may need to look for savings in other areas.
I believe Selsdon library was funded by Sainsbury's who also built a separate children's library which has been a wonderful addition particularly during the school holidays. Perhaps other such partnerships could be considered
although I am not a Selsdon residentand I am aware that not all Selsdon residents were happy with the decision.
I believe that libraries could dedicate an area within them for a coffee shop (like many building societies have done), this would encourage people to spend more time there, as well as bringing in money. Whilst there would be an initial outlay, the potential for increased revenue into the library services is important. There are too many librarians employed in libraries at any one time - particularly during schooltime in the week days. Re-organisation of
librarian working rotas would be sens ble so that at quiet times, fewer librarians are working. Then at peak times (ie after school and weekends) more librarians could be employed in order to cover the demand. Whilst book clubs are an excellent idea, it is nonsensical that partaking in them is free and that the books being read by the reading club are free. Some cost should be charged to cover book purchase. Likewise, fines for overdue books and DVDs should increase, and fees for borrowing DVDs could increase without becoming exorbitant.
i believe there are many people who would be pleased to give up some time to help in the library, thus cutting costs on staff,
I buy books which I would happily donate to the l brary, to help save money, but there is no means to do so. In America, libraries always do book drives. You could set up "friends" groups for local libraries who might help with some of the small items of maintenance/care of the buildings/library.
I couldnot tick a box for which library to close - obviously I would want Shirley to remain open as it is local and convenient and is one of very few local facilities we have - they "host" childrens events,ICT skills etc which make it an asset to the are.If the library were closed down it would fall into disrepair and never be a library again.Could the libraries be open for fewer days a week eg 3 or 4 ?
I deeply think of libraries most especially as a source of information in terms of academic research plus. Suggest; reductions or saving money would be made on other things foreinstance parks. Much colour (money) has been put into parks and yet little services are perfomed say after a century as according to personnal observations. Save or reduce money from such an area not libs and put much into our resourcing centres as Shirley library. Enough for now. thanks
I do not feel that l braries are an area that money should be cut back on. They form a vital lifeline to local peoople and communities which has suffered greatly since the loss of things like local post offices.
I do not see the point of the David Lean cinema when it shows films than can be seen at a commercial cinema. I think a disproportionate amount of money is spent in 'deprived' areas of the borough, thus leaving other areas without any council leisure services.
I do not think Bradmore Library should close because it offers vital links for two vulnerable user groups: children 0-11 with a vibrant club atmosphere and for the elderly who are less likely to use computers at home. Also coming from Broad Green where this is also a single story wheel chair friendly l brary with a busy holiday club for children. This shouldnt close but expand.
I do think that closing some of the smaller branches would be viable, especially when bigger & better equipped libraries are with in striking distance. (incidentally I did sign a petition to keep Shirley l brary open, but that was
because I felt under pressure from other mums at the school playground - I have been to Shirley library and there are never very many people there - plse don't print this comment anywhere) i don t know enough about this but could the l braries share resoures new books etc
I don,t know but closing l braries is not a good option wherever the library is as alot of people use the libraries on a regular basis.
I don't have any ideas for saving money. What I do know is that closing libraries is a stupid idea. It smacks of the scenario in Fahranheit 451 which in case you don't know is a novel about book burning. But then you would need to have read books to know that, which wouldn't be an option for many without libraries.
I don't know anything about the running of libraries but from the readers point of view I would suggest using more paper back and perhaps donated books until Kindle takes over I don't know the breakdown of the 100K proposed saving if it were closed - so know how that is spent.
i dont really know but just dont close down norbury libary
I dont think its my role to advise the council how to save money. Library cuts should not be an option.
I don't think the council should even be considering closing libraries as a means to save money. The potential savings of œ619k seem a drop in the ocean considering the vast sum of œ90 million that needs to be saved. Taking away local libraries will have a wide-ranging impact on local communities for very little financial benefit. The council could consider reducing the opening hours of local libraries - having our local library open on three days a week would be preferable to losing it completely.
I don't think the value of a public service can be measured in financial terms. You could increase fines and maybe have coffee shops or stationery shops housed in libraries which could generate money
I expect that, like other library authorities across the country, Croydon has been under severe cash restraints for many years and have made most of the obvious savings already e.g. better stock supply contracts, reduction in the number of professional staff etc etc, I would suggest more exploration of shared services with neighbouring authorities e.g. Bromley (which as the same library computer system in Vubis), Sutton and Lambeth.
I feel offering norbury l brary to the community to run is an option that should be explored. There is a true community in norbury and it should be built upon not torn down. By allowing the community to apply for eu funding and the possibility of raising funds to pay for the running of the building we may be able to run it more effeciantly than the council. I feel by taking a social enterprise approach to running the library the community would benefit far more
than asking us to use thornton heath library. By training voluneers to work in the l brary we will be developing skills and also be providing an opportunity to build on transferable skills. I think by using the library as a duel perpose facility would help save money too. Just as the post office moved several of it's branches into local WHSmith stores, the l brary could benefit from doing something similar, in turn reducing the overheads for running the library in it's current form. I think we as a borough should use this negative approach to saving money and change it into something possitve by leading the way with the 'Big Society' and remodel the way in which we save money, rather
than to axe our library service we should be trai blazing different approaches to running a more efficient service.
I feel that closing any of these libraries would be wrong for two reasons - firstly, I feel that many people (especially children) will not go to another library if their local one is closed; secondly, we all know that if a library is closed, it won't ever be re-opened. My suggestion is that the 6 libraries being proposed for closure don't totally close, but that their opening hours are reduced by 2 days (e.g. Norbury library is open 3 days a week instead of the current 5
days a week) - and *all* other l braries in the Borough (apart from Central Library) have their opening hours reduced by 1 day (i.e. instead of being open for 5 days per week as most are, they are open for 4 days - or whatever 1 day less than the current opening hours is!) This would ensure that the libraries remain open - and when the financial circumstances become better in the future, the hours can be extended towards what they are currently.
L braries are one of our best resources, and I'd rather reduce the hours but still have the resource available!
I feel that there is some potential in asking volunteers to work in partnership with the present, experienced staff. These experienced staff could also demonstrate their expertise at nearby libraries. There might also be the possibility of asking for voluntary donations when people borrow books.
I feel the prospect of closing public libraries in a civilised society is outrageous. They should be protected for the the unique place they hold in every community - information, education, and leisure. Future generations will be
amazed that anyone could consider such an act of social vandalism.
i given and most feel the same wouldwillingly pay dailyfor all the training etc iand most feel the same way its a safe area fantastic staff the same people here each day all using everythingat there disposaltoo learn and advancethemselves
I have always been anxious about all the things provided in other languages. (No I am not "that bigoted woman!") Having taught for 40 years in South London I want warm safe places for my kids to study -reading books in English to help them with their exams and to integrate in Britain. Save money by concentrating on English language books.
I have frequently offered books to the library and had them rejected because they are not in pristine condition - no account was taken of the fact that the books were good reading, often modern classics. I think that some of the
librarians need to revise their ideas. If nothing else, these books could be sold to raise funds. Some libraries are much more receptive to gifts.
i have no idea of how much it costs to run a library or what their expenses consist of, please go back to the government and tell them it is unacceptable to close libraries anywhere not just in croydon
I have no ideas that would save money (I think that Libraries are a service to the community and therefore are a cost which has to be borne) but I think if a Cafe were built on the site at Sanderstead it could become a money making project
I have several ideas, but one of them would probably still involve redundancies. 1. Allow books and dvds to be donated to the l brary if they are good condition, second hand. I currently give books to charity shops but would be happy to give to the library instead. I can afford to buy books but know a lot of people who cannot. 2. Allow for volunteer shifts at the l brary, with paid staff supervising. I work full-time as a teacher, but
would be prepared to do shifts in school holidays. I also think there are newly retired people or young people doing DofE who would be prepared to volunteer. 3. Allow l braries to fundraise themselves - they are part of a community so should be able to take part in community events.
I honestly don't think we should be looking at removing library funding at all. As a child growing up in a rural village I did not have the same access to books as my children do and I can say that it is clear to see what a great start
in life they have had by such easy access to information and the confidence it gives them (as well as speeding up the reading skills - my children are 7 and 4 by the way).. The added benefit for us personally is that we get outside
/ physical exercise by walking to the library !
I know many of the users of Sanderstead library are parents with their children and I think having an annual library fair in the grounds of the library would raise money towards redecoration or anything else the library needs.
I know some of the libraries have now closed on additional days to save on staffing. I can understand that this may help although it is not necessarily good for library users. I am not sure how else money could be saved, but believe libraries are an extremely important part of society especially for young children. Sanderstead has a large number of families and many may not have access to a good range of books and the encouragement to read without the l brary. Cutting public libraries without thought or planning will damage society, hurting local communities and families
I know that your job is not easy but to take away somtthing so dear to the old and young is not fair. where to save i couldnot tell you as i do not have all the info but please do dot close this library.
I like the volunteering scheme the Government wants to put in place (Big Society) but I think councils would make their effort much more worthwhile if this re-structure was put in place through fun activities, in a creative way so people engaged more and with stronger sense of commitment. There is a game called ChangePlayBusiness that the council could play with a group of pre-selected volunteers, that would help everyone to understand
expectations, legal issues, workforce, level of experience and so forth. Change Play Business crosses issues such as: - The L braries agenda: Maybe at the core there are 2 different issues: a) how it (a Library) creates value in a world where information access is in our pockets (phones) and laptops b) the culture of 'cutting costs' which diverts thinking from 'seeing a library as a resource' and 'explore how it can create value and become sustainable' - to consider it's a 'cost' and how can this cost be cut. Change Play Business can (potentially) help: - creatively assess the l brary's value for the community and rethink how such asset can meet new needs -
explore cross-sector connections that haven't been explored! - identify new opportunities for value creation - for example, could libraries become 'Thinking Hotels' - openning 24/7 and offering immersion programmes of innovation, or coaching, or strategising, or co-activation? - Change Play Business could (maybe!) be used as an alternative to traditional consultation methods for stakeholder co-design - it would be more interactive, and more engaging, in which people not only bring their views, but perhaps take the innitiative to implement. I hope it helps! You can join the Linkedin group 'ChangePlayBusiness' for more debate & ideas.
I object strongly to the suggestion that Libraries need to fin ways of saving money. They do a good job and are by no means extravagant in spending. I think getting sponsorship from companies to maintain libraries is far better. I personally think that to attempt to save money by closing the libraries is an extremely poor idea, they are so important to so many different people. The fact that a library is close to you gives the opportunity to visit more frequently and to get to know your l brarians as they know their customers. However, as money must be saved, my prefered option would be to only open each library part time, closing an extra day or afternoon each week. Perhaps sponsorship for new books or areas in the l brary could be sought from businesses in Croydon in exchange for advertising. We must consider all other options before any closures. Getting rid of the mayor or just her expensive mayoral car and chauffeur should certainly go before libraries!
I presume that you buy your books from the cheapest source
I realise that the Council has difficult choices to make in saving money in the current climate; I would rather see a rise in my Council Tax than see a vital local community service like my local library close,
I realise that the Council must make savings but once any of your libraries are closed it would be extremely difficult for them to re-open. They would be gone forever and the site sold off. This is why I haven't answered the first
question which I found found to be extremely unfair in the light of my next comment. However if the opening days were reduced and staff re-arranged why couldn't all the L braries remain open? This might mean opening some L braries on Wednesdays. Can I suggest that you re-think your options and invite comments on those.
I see that Sanderstead l brary is now also closed on Mondays - perhaps other libraries could also be closed on an extra day each week?
I suggest more outreach services, possibly linking up with school libraries, old people's homes etc, so that budgets can be shared across services.
I suggest you save money by reducing councillors junkets then look at other less useful facilities within the council's remit. Libraries have a long history of educational use in the UK. Don't reduce Croydon to the level of the third world.
I suppose volunteers helping out, although that of course would mean staff cuts. Cutting opening times down to two days per week instead of three. Using the facilities for teaching purposes i.e. English classes, computer courses
etc. Encouraging pensioner groups to make use of the facilities
I suspect the council would l ke to sell the site.. prime location! If this were done, could developers be required to rebuild the l brary/centre (cf Selsdon) at, for example, the site of the near disused toilets/bus shelter on the edge of the Recreation Ground??? A central meeting place, although parking would be difficult. We do not all own cars!
I think any cost saving should be applied equally across all the borough's libraries. The value and need of libraries is necessary to all the neighbourhoods listed and none should be closed, particularly for those users unable to fill in this kind of survey! I would consider it more sens ble to close ALL the l braries for an additional day a week to save them.
I think closing some of the l braries is reasonable. I however live in the South of the borough and do not know exactly where the North libraries are and how they are accessable.
I think closing some of the smaller l braries is inevitable in these times. Staggered opening times could also be an option leaving those less mobile residents still with some access I think closing them for maybe an extra day a week would not have too much impact but would still allow them to be used by the local community.
I think cost savings should preferably be made elsewhere. That said, however, reducing the number of staff on duty, turning down the heating, would effect some savings, and, for example, charging 50p per hour for use of the internet, would be a useful source of revenue. If investment were made to install a lift this would open up all the extra upstairs facilities and this would give scope for more community activities and revenue from room hirings.
I think instead of closing any library, you should consider on to use the l brary staff more flexibly and considering reduced opening times for all l braries including the Central library. Whilst the Central l brary might see a lot of
customers/footfall it does not play the vital role in the community that the local libraries do.
I think its a precious resource which people need particularly when times are hard. Perhaps they should seek some sort of sponsorship from large publishing companies.
I think it's important to keep the libraries open and functioning at least on a basic level, that is concentrating on books and computer facilities. Regrettably this would mean cutting back on extra services such as club activities, DVD/CD loans, author visits etc. There may also be a case for reduced opening times across the service.
I think libraries are an ever more important resource for society in these times of increased unemployment and a growing elderly population. More money should be being spent in libraries, not less. I think libraries do very very well with the money that they have and should not be made to save even more money.
I think libraries are old fashioned and the council should look to local schools & colleges to open their "Resourse Centres" to the public. 40 Million pounds has been spent on Coulsdon College which is ashort distance from Bradmore Green library. The whole community should have access to these state of the art facilities. Coulsdon High/Oasis Academy has also have Millions spent on it. The added benefit there is people in Coulsdon might start sending their children there if they can see it in person.
I think libraries are wonderful jsut as they are. However, perhaps charging for some services would be a better option that closing them completely.
I think libraries could do a little more to generate income and there may be options to share premises with Adult Education Centres or schools (like the Ashburton Learning Village). I don't think it is a sens ble option to close libraries in particular in the deprived north of the borough. I strongly object to the misinformation on this consultation document. Thornton Heath Library is at 1.5 miles and two bus rides away from South Norwood Library: Even
with an oyster card that is œ5.20 for the round trip for 1 adult..
I think opening times could be restricted. I don't believe they are busy during the day everyday. They should maybe open more during the school holidays in the week, but could probably open later or close for full days/mornings the rest of the time. Late evening openings would be useful for those who work in the city, but appreciate this is unlikely to happen.
I think that all libraries provide a community with hope,reguadless of how rich,poor or your circumstances may be,the facility of reading,writing,and learning new skills is truly priceless and can create a positive window of opportunity.
I think that ensuring that large corporations and individuals aren't allowed to avoid large parts of their tax bills would mean that there'd be no need to be closing these l braries as that money could be used to fund them. I think that fines could be higher. There is no reason to let books become overdue; it is possible to renew online which I use a lot. Other than a personal visit it is always possible to telephone to renew.
I think that front line services should be affected by the government's proposed cuts as a last resort. It is unclear what other alternatives the council has considered ahead of the current proposal to library services and whether any
impact assessments have been carried out as the cut in services would have a disproportionate impact on certain sectors of the community (low income families, stay at home mums, the elderly and very young). I think that they should be used for more community based activities.
I think that what they offer now is perfect. They don't waste money and they don't pay their staff a fortune unlike others at the Council.
I think that with the condition of some of the buildings and the reality of funding that one or two l braries may have to close to preserve and develop the service. I think that the co-locating of services in more up to date buildings and working more formerly in partnership with other organisations and council departments is the best way forward. I believe the libraries provide a range of very valuable services and meet a number of important community
needs and have a role to play in helping the council in reducing the duplication of provision, being a key frontline service that has points of contact with residents across the borough.
I think the Council is going about this the wrong way - instead of trying to SAVE money why don't you look at MAKING money. The l braries have a huge resource base and should look to market it services more/better. Why not start offering courses such as computer or language courses. You will of course be challenging the CALAT centres but their charges are ridiculously high and their buildings are horrible. I think tha l braries should deliver more
courses - Why don't you think of closure the CALATs instead
I think the council needs to become even more flexible with their budgets, no longer pigon holeing funds and being inflexible with the budgets that they have. Or putting in place systems which mean you could sometimes spend more money going through certian departments to enable you to use services. I sometimes feel that the Council could work smarter, ensuring that it doesn't waste tax payers money on projects that don't give the council value for
money, or buying in services from other companies which prove to be inflexible or even mend / repair / install items to the wrong specification which later needs to be changed. I also feel that the coucil sometimes wastes money producing glossy leaflets / documents which few people read. The library service is currently undergoing reoganisation, staff will become even more flex ble working accross the borough to deliver targets and services, this will save efficencies. The service is also working with other boroughs to provide services, maybe other backroom tasks such as ordering stationary, furniture etc could be provided in this way, which may produce a greater discount.
Maybe there are other council services which could be provided at the l braries, or community groups could be encoruaged to make use of the public space, maybe hiring the building out for meetings. There may be services we could provide which other departments could buy in, several of my local schools have in the past asked if they could pay me to help them reorgnise their school library, in the absence of a schools library service this is a service that no one currently provides. Maybe schools would also be prepared to pay for l brairans to come in to talk to the children for a day or 2 recommending them books we curretnly provide this service free but our product is of a
high quailty so they may be prepared to pay as they would for authors.
I think the Council should consider why they would take away assets that clearly provide significant value for money. The library keeps the community spirit going and has its part in developing well grounded youth for the future. Keeping the library will have an impact on the costs that the Council spend on managing troubled youth in the area in the future. The Council should keep its eye on long term costs and not focus just on the short term simply to achieve numbers.
I think the cuts should not affect education. Pay the top council staff less!!
I think the least satisfactory local library is Selsdon, which has a very poor selection of books compared with other local libraries - but for some reason is not as risk ? Why not? I think some reduction in the top officer salaries and councillor allowances would generate significant funds.
I think the libraries should remain a free resource but charging a membership fee annually would be acceptable to most users.This would hopefully offset some of the closures
I think the point should be how money can be raised from outside sources as the library service is underfunded at present with staff at minimum levels and new books and other resources limited. The idea of moving the New Addington L brary into a neighbouring building to share with Adult Education in the area is a postive idea. However, I have sent an additional email to Councillor Sara Bashford listing ideas to raise money for the l brary services. Deails of this is included below: I am contacting you with regard to the proposed l brary closures in our borough. I feel that the proposal to half the number of branch libraries from 12 to 6 should not be implemented for a number of reasons. I am aware that the council has to make savings in these times of budget cuts, but once libraries are shut it will be highly unlikely they will reopen when the economy recovers. If cuts are required, an alternative option would be to cut library hours across those l braries proposed for closure on a short term basis. If volunteers are used they should be only to do shelving or cover lunch breaks. To manage and run a whole library by volunteers would not make sense. How would new books be funded and complicated enquiries and inter -library loan reservations be dealt with ? I work at Library as a and although this library is not on the list for proposed library closures, any closures of neighbouring l braries will have significant effects on us. Sanderstead Library has already suffered reduced opening hours on Monday and our attendance has been higher at Selsdon on that day as a result thus putting pressure on services. If Sanderstead L brary is shut completely customers will have to travel to their nearest library which is Selsdon Library or even further. Our Children's support groups on a Friday morning
- Rhymetime and Wiggle and Jiggle are already well attended and if mothers have to come from Sanderstead these sessions will be over stretched. Schools in Sanderstead currently visit their local l brary for school visits. These would have to be re-directed to Selsdon. Would the teachers want to do this with all the travel involved in transporting a class of 20 or more children on a bus and further walk ? Also extra school visits would have to fitted in at the
expense of other events. Selsdon L brary has already had three customers ask to go on the waiting list for our Reading group which is currently full as the future of the Sanderstead Reading Group is under threat. It is also not an easy journey from Sanderstead Library to Selsdon Library and there is not a direct bus. School children currently able to wa k to Sanderstead L brary after school would have to make their way to Selsdon Library by bus or try and get lifts from their parents after school. There is currently only one computer in the Children's Library at Selsdon and it is already difficult to fit all the current children on after school who have homework to complete. If
Sanderstead Library is shut can you guarantee that Selsdon Library will receive more staff, computers and duplicate new books and other resources? Both Shirley and Sanderstead L braries have active adult craft groups. Shirley also have a popular adult games group. These meet a demand for local facilities as neither have a local community centre or retirement centre to provide these social needs. I cannot choose a preference for the six proposed libraries for closure. Those libraries in the north of the borough such as Broad Green ,Norbury and South Norwood are needed because they are in an economically deprived area and large numbers of people have
English as a second language. Therefore, there is more need to improve literacy and provide free books and computer access to both children and adults. I was disappointed to learn that you had not visited the Norbury Library in the last ten years as mentioned by yourself in answer to a question by the local resident or councillor for Norbury at the recent meeting at the Town Hall. I hope that this is the only library that you have not visited as decisions on library closures can surely not be done on statistics alone. Elderly customers would suffer in all areas of library closures due to the difficulties of getting to libraries no longer within walking distance. We have elderly customers
who can no longer drive and battle to wa k in to the library. With added bus journeys would this be a final straw ? In some cases the local library is their link with the outside world as their partner may have passed away and their other family living elsewhere. We have an aging population and their needs should be considered. There is also an issue of some libraries being in a bad state of repair. Could local builders be persuaded to negotiate lower costs in return for advertising a board outside the relevant library for a certain period or to stock their company flyers for a specified period? A local l brary is vital to promoting groups and societies in that area and to its
improve links in that community. Areas of raising income in libraries could be to allow more advertising of local business and groups by accepting flyers or small postcard size notices on a notice board. Various charges could be made for these services. At Selsdon Library there are regular requests for this service but at present there is no policy for this . Advertisers could be private dance groups, sports clubs , personal home tutors even local services like plumbers or decorators. Other ways of raising income could be to allow private travel companies like Skinners or Consort to stock their brochures in the library with discount being given of say 10% to library users.
I don't think this is covered by the Croydon Information Centre at East Croydon station. Older customers regularly ask during the summer if there are any day trips available and where they could access this information. There has also been more coverage of the cuts to Cultural Services this week in the local papers. It implies that the David Lean cinema will shut as well as the Braithwaite Hall and Space C. If this does happen can Space C be offered to the National Trust at a negotiated rental that would attract them. If the shop was profitable the council could take a % of profits. Could the Braithwaite Hall be used to hire out stands for local artists and craftsmen ? Another
suggestion would be to attract a stationery supplier like W.H Smiths, Ryman's or Staples or a local independent stationer like Lorimers to the Space C area. The shop that was there previously did not make a profit, however as a customer I did not feel it had the right goods to sell. There would be a market for general stationary items l ke paper, pens, envelopes. The company would rent the space hence providing income to the council. The amount of publicity to save our libraries has reached national news bulletins and a company such as Ryman's may be persuaded to undertake such a venture for added publicity. the Friends of Selsdon Wood I would
also like to comment that a local library is vital to promote green groups in that area. Friends groups advertise their walks and other events locally. South Norwood is the main l brary for promoting South Norwood Lakes as is Sanderstead promoting Sanderstead Plantation and Kings Wood. Local libraries are also vital to a local community as more services are withdrawn like post offices. It is also an important contact for the local council and its residents and this should not be under valued. I wrote to the council a number of years ago regarding the sponsorships of roundabouts to raise money for their upkeep as I had seen it at other neighbouring boroughs. I was told then that the Croydon Council did not support such things. However, this has since changed and sponsored roundabouts are in the borough. I would also like to put forward an idea that if residents were prepared to accept
fortnightly rubbish collections instead of weekly could this money be put to saving the threatened libraries ? There are health and safety issues around this but what if in the hot summer months weekly collections were reinstated to cover this. Staff in the winter months could be used in other sections like Parks or in Roads and Path maintenance. In the original consultation with the public, departments in general were mentioned where money should be spent or not spent. It didn't list specific items that would or would not be effected. Would the public have voted differently if more specific options were put to them? I also think that the current l brary consultation questionnaire is
not very well presented as it is asking the public to vote for 7 options in number order of which libraries should be closed. Sanderstead customers are thinking they have to put 1 next to Sanderstead Library but it should be 7 if they don't want that library to close. I am having comments from customers about "I don't know where the others libraries are or what other facilities do they have in that area. " How as library staff are we to answer this as we as staff are not allowed to comment or influence them. If they fill in no closures ie do nothing and do not fill in the other options or just one or two is this form acceptable ? Customers are not unsure as this is not stated on the form.
I think there is a lot of ways not to save but to generate income to keep this library open. The very first obvious one is renting the hall upstairs. I have lost count of the amount of time people has come to ask about reniting it. I know we have have been told about the cost, but the Norbury communuity are prepare to fund raise to have it done. Last week one of my customer said that she read from somewhere that it cost the council œ2 every time she walk in through the door, and she said she'd be happy to pay that money if it meant the l brary stays open. Most new joiner always ask if there is a joining fee. If in this hard time people are prepare to contribute to keep the service
going why not let them. When the situation get better it can be reviewed again. I know the public computer facilities is a government network, but all our customers are prepare to pay to use it, why not make it so? What is the very sad thing is if this wonderful library close, when financial situation are better, it's not going to be re-open, is it?
I think they are a reasonable cost as they are, and the fact that every single one of the libraries costs less than the council executive's salaries is of a great deal of pertinence. Instead of cutting funds to libraries, funds should be
re-couped by the thousands of high-powered tax-avoiders such as the owners of Boots and Topshop. Bringing their funds in to the system would easily keep the l braries open.
I think those who run the libraries should know what to do, otherwise what are we paying them for? Unless, that is, they know that they are actually vfm. BG employs 5 members of staff and still survives on œ100,000. Every councillor to take a 25% pay cut and from the level before cabinet etc increases have been agreed. As a Civil Servant for 25 years who was made redundant on 31 Dec, I would love to have been given that option rather than
going onto œ63 a week in benefits. I am absolutely disgusted with the attitudes being displayed, particularly towards the elderly here. It is almost l ke eugenics - oh, they don't bother much etc. You should be thoroughly ashamed and you tell us about getting into the real world. We are. You all need to - and you need to do it fast!
I think with Sanderstead Library, rather than saving money, I think making money would be better. There are no local coffee shops or meeting places. I would be happy to pay for tea, coffee and cakes etc for myself, other mothers
and children. We have discussed it, and feel we could expand the library. Make it the centre of the Village
I think you are coming at this from completely the wrong angle. L braries are a positive social, environmental and physical asset. The Council should be looking at ways of enhancing this asset by making better use of the space
(e.g. co-locating the VCS, utilising libraries in the evening, renting space to cafes, developing multi-media commercial avenues) as community hubs, not seeking to shut them down. Why don't you work with the VCS and private sector across Croydon to develop libraries into community hubs ?
I think you could ask the govt to close all the tax loopholes for big companies.. such as boots, top shop etc. The money we are losing from their legal tax avoidance could more than fund the l braries in the borough and beyond. I
think this kind of "the cuts are inevitable" consultation is a deception
I think you could increase there uses, they are great buildings and could be hired out for meetings and evening classes bringing in additional venue. Schools should be encouraged to use them frequently and strong relationships between local schools and local l braries could be established. This would increase there use and benefit children in the local area. Sanderstead has several primary schools where this sort of arrangement could be established.
I think you need to spend to save. More books, better facilities to encourage more people to use the services to make a difference to their lives. Remember why the public library servcie in this country was started in the first place. I think you should probably be a bit more business focused and think about ways of making money. I would use and pay for a service where I could hire out a room suitable for presenting training sessions or for putting on children's activities where there are excellent facilities for cleaning up afterwards (e.g. art, book or music activities). I think some of the local libraries are great for the hardcore residents that use them but it's not hard for them to get to Croydon Library if the tiny ones close! Sanderstead would also be better used if it did become a venue for activities.
I think you should use students and other less costly staff during weekends and the school holidays to keep costs down.
I understand the need to reduce costs, but closing libraries is such a drastic step. Consideration should be given to reducing opening hours, perhaps some half days. I wonder if spare capacity in libraries could be used for start-up businesses or for voluntary groups to meet.
I would be happy to make a monthly donation to maintain the l brary. I'm sure many others feel the same (it is strange that the services are not subscription for people who can afford it and that toddler sessions for example are free when they are not elsewhere). I also think that some local people would be happy to leave money to the library in their wills. There is also a question about the price paid for books. Whenever the books have the price paid listed I am always horrified as they are bought at high street prices. They could be bought for less online very easily. Local people may also be very happy to donate books to the library. Sanderstead Station always has a lot of new very good condition books donated to it.
I would be happy to pay a small sum for each book borrowed if it would keep Sanderstead open.
I would be happy to pay more for reservations. Hold charged for events in the library - particularly re local/family history I would be willing to pay for staff expertise to help me trace the history of my house/family etc. I would be happy to pay up to 50p per book to borrow and similar for CDs etc
I would be in favour of an increase in our rates to keep our wonderful library system
I would be willing to visit and discuss ideas. A few to start with: -encourage people to donate books to the l brary -hire out rooms -get local schools to decorate the l brary -encourage more volunteers - schools or elderly - fundraise e.g. selling books, get children in schools to fundraise -have a self service checkout so you need fewer staff
I would cut the number of senior management earning over œ60,000. There seem to be an awful lot of them in Croydon, with more being hired by the day. Reducing the senior management team by 50% would save enough money to keep the libraries open.
I would like to take a look at the budgets for these l braries as the costs/savings seem incredible! Is the council charging for rates for these facilities, if so, don't! Savings can be made by either reducing the salaries for middle
managers within the council or by getting rid of them. The Chief Executive is paid a factor of three times what he/she is worth versus the private sector.
I would love to see libraries accepting books from customers. I belong to a reading group and at times have had to buy my own copies of books, but know that I won't read them again. I end up giving them to charity shops. Perhaps some of the libraries could be open for a morning or an afternoon less and some staff be based in twin locations?
I would not close any l braries. Surely this a front line service which I think should be protected. I gather closing my local library, Norbury, would save œ100k pa. This is very small compared with what could be saved in central costs at Taberner House, surely.
I would open a coffee shop here to generate additional income. I'd rent out the empty upstairs room. Raise the money for a lift if required for DDA. I would not buy any new books for a few years. Stop buying DVD's/ble ray
completely ( unless this business makes a profit) as with mediums changing stock will soon need to be rid off and replaced.
i would prefer the libraries to open less days or shorter hous rather than close altogether.
I would prefer to see no l brary closures (unless there are any that are very obviously unnecessary or obsolete). Closing l braries sets a very bad precedent and sends a very, very bad message to the public, and especially to our children. It is unlikely that if a l brary was to close we would ever get it back again. I undertand that savings need to be made but would strongly urge that you consider reducing opening hours at all libraries before closing any of
them.
I would prefer to see reduced opening hours rather than closures. I think that libraries offer vital services for all areas of the community and need to be local so the elderly, young etc can access easily. Central is a fantastic l brary but doesn't provide the easy access and community feel that the small libraries provide. It is vital that those who don't have access to the facilties of books, internet etc at home have free access to these at l braries easily to
ensure social mobility. Maybe volunteers could help support the libraries? I don't know enough about the financies to make any other sens ble suggestions.
I would propose that the libararies choose shorter opening hours. Also the use of volunteers to help the librarians rather than have full paid staff. Perhaps also some other paid activities which might supliment the income. A cafe to draw in more people to use the library.
I would rather have a library open for fewer days than none at all..
I would rather pay for good public services through taxation local or otherwise.
I would suggest bringing in a charge for computer use. Many other L braries do this, some having a free half hour and then charging for extra time. At the moment we don't even charge guests(non library members). I would also suggest that rather than closing l braries and losing a local facility altogether, a reduction in opening hours might be preferable so that those who cannot manage or afford transport to a more distant site can still access library services.
I wouldn't spend money changing flowers that are not dead for new ones twice a year in beds that could just asd easily be grassed over in the center of roundabouts.
I, and I'm sure other users, would happily volunteer some of our time to regularly help out at our local Library - this could make significant savings. Staffing levels sometimes seem quite high. I'd be happy to pay more for services, such as computer use after 15 minutes or join Friends Groups to raise money for libraries, or to join groups such as knit and natter or bookgroups Identify savings from wastage elsewhere.
If absolutely necessary I guess opening hours could be reduced..... a part time local library would be better than none!
If any l braries close it will be irreversible. I understand the need for cuts but what about keeping all of the libraries going for just 2 or 3 days a week to keep a skeletal library service over the next 5 years. The cuts should come from elsewhere.
If I had any good money saving ideas for my library I would say so but I cannot think of anything. I do not think only opening it for 3 days would help as it would still have to be maintained and heated. If it meant saving our libraries perhaps closing a couple of days a week.
If l braries had been adequately maintained over the years they would not be so costly. If the budgets hadn't been mucked about with there would be more variety of books etc to borrow. Being also a Bromley library member their
service has far overtaken Croydon's. The borough seems to only have money for expensive consultations (ie money wasted on Capita consultations) and minority services.
If money must be saved then perhaps the council could reduce library opening hours accross ALL the libraries not just the ones listed. This would surely be fairer. I have del berately not answered all the questions as you seem to be trying to set one library against another and I do not agree with this.
If money needs to be saved could they open for shorter hours or 1 day less a week.
If necessary close the library one extra day per week. Personally I would not mind paying a small fee for things like the book group or the 'knit and natter. or for events that the library organises.
If need be reduce the library service so local people have access, even if limited, but don't close them. There is a big cluster of l braries in the north of the borough so look at cutting more there. Sponsorship deals perhaps? Asking local communities to fundraise but not if you keep other schemes in place such as celebrating Black History Week, The Mela, planning clelebrations for 2010. Money is wasted elsewhere in the council. Please don't cut this statutory service!!!! This is the only real facility we have in Sanderstead.
If need be the libraries could be closed for an additional weekday.
If not a complete closure of a local library you could have limited opening hours - perhaps in rotation with other local l braries.
If savings have to be made from the library service (and I strongly object to making savings from this vital community service) then I would reduce the number of opening days per week. Perhaps to Saturday and 2 to 3 weekdays. Staff savings could be made by having staff working at two different libraries. Also a modest increase in charges would be better and more acceptable than closing libraries. DVDs for example are way cheaper than commercial hire organisations.
If the worse comes to the worse bring in volunteers but keep the libraries open. Reduced opening hours so people can still have a choice. More outreach facilities from a central base if poss. Cut down on salaries & higher - tiered management . Managing books/other items & services is not exactly "rocket science"! Amalgamate resources e.g. put other facilities in to libraries so sharing premises. Let advertisers pay for advertising space - libraries are a magnet for people seeking any info.
If there really have to be cuts in the l brary service, possibly a reduction in opening hours/days could be considered. The problem with closing premises is that once they are gone the buildings are sold off and even if finances improve those services are never re-instated. Free public libraries are were of great advantage to me when I was growing up, and are still of great use to me. It is a part of our society that is still necessary for the future generations.
If you had to in order to keep the library open you could cut down the number of staff. This may involve things like closing for lunch but at least we would have a library service.
If you had to shut libraries, why not replace them with a mobile service that spends 2 days a week at each location where the library used to be. That way people could still get books. If YOU NEED TO SAVE MONEY WE COULD ALL HELP BY AN ANNUAL LIBRARY MEMBERSHIP FEE - OBNVIOUSLY NOT TOO HIGH.
In a climate where citiziens are being asked to accept pay freezes, perhaps councillors might consider a cut in the level of expences they can currently claim. After all school governors are expected to carry out their role on a
purely voluntary basis with no possibility of claiming expences!
In my point of view I think the councils should take a decision seriously and should also think about the public because there are parents who cannot afford computer at their homes because of their financial problems. Students cannot buy books because they cannot afford it so to do their homework and take help about their studies they visit the library and borrow books, dvds, use computer to do their assignments etc. Just by closing l brary and by
cutting all the facilities doesn't mean that they will save billons of pounds.Closing most of the libraries will not help to save money but it will create more problems between the public, students and the councils, Government and the councils should have thought before about their plans and the facilities that they are reducing from the public because I think not many public will support with the decisions.
In New Zealand a fee is levied on NEW books such as novels when they are first published. If you wish to be first to borrow the latest Jeffrey Archer novel you pay about $2.50 (œ1.50) to borrow it. After a set period the book can
be borrowed free of charge. The policy ensures that the libraries can afford to purchase new books. Such a policy should not be applied to text books as it could impact on students. It must be noted that most books are imported from Britain and cost proportionately more than here - and you pay 15% VAT to buy a new book (against UNESCO policy).
In Norbuy Library in particular, support a working group of local people to look at innovative ways of developing the l brary, including looking at innovative ways of financing the development of the upstairs room which could be a significant income source.
In order to stop immediate closure, I would suggest to organise a volunteer group to run the library some days a week. There could be a group in the morning of 60+ volunteers and another one of parents with children to run it in the afternoons. A 'homework club' could be also be beneficial as this would attract some other parents that want to volunteer but that can't leave their children alone. People attending clubs should pay a symbolic amount of œ1 per day in order to pay services such as electricity and so forth. Councils must be creative, there's a whole community out there that has had these services (and other that will go too!) for a long time and that would feel a huge
loss if they were to disappear.
In recent times, much effort has been put into family learning events and these are wonderful to make the most of the money that is spent. Personally, though I do take out cds as part of language material, I don't think it's important to provide dvds/videos. These can be bought almost as cheaply now as rented and there is no business case for that part of library activity.
In Shirley you could have a children's librarian and an adult librarian only. Use extra casual staff for school holiday times when it is busier. Increase all charges dramatically. Free internet access should be c eased - make a charge
Increase charges Stagger opening hours Encourage book/dvd/cassette donations Use library facilities for other groups Hold open days/coffee mornings/book sales Host talks by outside agencies Not waste money on things
like the yearly Mela Cafe/Coffee shop run on premises by outside provision
Increase council tax - l braries are essential services. Closure of libraries constitutes cultural vandalism. This is no surprise from a council that also contemplates the destruction of Croydon's key cultural institutions. Increase Council Tax. Possibly increase the fines for overdue books. Possibly introduce donation boxes at the entrances/exits. Poss bly arrange for publicity for a subscription process.
Increase Croydon Council's budget deficit
Increase fines and charges on media rentals?
Increase fines for overdue books. Don't leave computer or other electrical equipment switched on unnecessarily. Ask for donations especially for 'extras' like booktrail, storytime etc. Look at charging structure for courses (with possible exemptions for OAPs, students, unemployed etc). Sell off unwanted books at more realistic prices. Get people to donate their unwanted books for resale (similar scheme which raises money for diabetes charity
operates from Sanderstead station). Sell drinks - vending machine or where possible a coffee shop. (Or sell franchise to operate).
Increase late fees. Stop sending out paper fee reminders - send out text (sms ) or email ones.
Increase late return charges Consider other charges e.g. computer use,courses, groups etc. Users would be prepared to pay to keep service running. Increase online resources, reduce hours opened (mornings and early afternoon) - when children are at school and adults are at work.
Increase overdue fees.
Increase printer charges Increase library fines
Increase the cost of borrowing a cd/dvd. Increase the charge for late returns. Install energy efficient lighting and insulation. Rent out space to community groups after hours or when the library is closed on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Rent a corner of the library out to local craftspeople to sell their wares etc.
Increase the council tax by œ1.00 per household and ensure that it goes into a library fund. The tax is so expensive that an extra œ1.00 would not make enough financial difference to each household but accumulated must help resolve the problem
Increase the levels of fines for late returns. This would increase revenue from those not abiding by the rules. Only small but any little helps. Increase the ratio of volunteer staff to salaried staff.
Increase the use of self service checkouts. Encourage people to use the l brary for events in order to generate additional income. increase usage allow commercial advertising facilitate book sales for charity promote room hire
Increased efficiency and accountability of all services.
Increased library automation. Look up Intellident on the internet as they provide highly automated library systems. This would me a one off cost but operating costs would be lower. Also Bradmore Green library is right next to Coulsdon C of E primary school and perhaps the site could be more actively or linked with the school. Possibly some of the year 6 pupils could help in the library.
Install low cost drink and snack machines. Sell useful utility items like shopping green bags, stationery, new books,ask for old books and sell them at low prices, jumble sale of useful items, fete, car boot sale..paid events loke music sessions, philosophy talks where listeners pay, ask for straight donations or direct debits or legacy etc.
Install more energy efficient heating and lighting systems. Consult locally to find shorter opening hours on certain days when it would have little impact - this would reduce staffing cost (but obviously would reduce pay for the members of staff concerned!) Make a nominal charge for some of the free events held at a library.
Instead of buying several new books, the council can consider the option of buying 2 or 3 new books. Users will need to place a reservation on the books they need if there is not enough to go round everybody. Instead of closing libraries all together we could provide reduced services such as not opening everyday of the week but only on popular days by consultation of users.
Instead of closing libraries which are vital to creating some community spirit in Croydon, save money by stopping benefit fraud!
Instead of closures reduces opening hours by 10 to 20 %
Instead of keep patching up the building and the lift at southnorwood and it was done properly this would save money. If the councillors take a pay cut this would save money. lots of useless leaflets are printed that no one looks at or takes.
Instead of saving money - maybe librairies could generate more income. Maybe through the introduction of small charges for services, for example the craft sessions. Instead of saving money consider how you can generate extra income. For example events where people pay for admission or language courses.
Instead of them being free, a token membership fee should be charged with varying levels of membership. e.g low users 1/2 books at a time œ1 a month. Medium users up to 6 books at a time œ1.50 a month and High users
more than 6 books at a time œ2 a month. Internet use should be charged at like œ1 an hour etc etc - generate income to keep them open! those who really want to use them will pay a small amount
Instead of thinking about how the libraries could SAVE money, how about thinking of ways in which they could RAISE money? i.e. put up fines, install small coffee bar wagons, offer slots to local tabletop traders for a small charge, have added-value events that are chargeable, ask for donations/sponsorship.... there are many opportunties in this way. œ100k per year is not a large amount of money for the commercial sector.
Introduce a small charge for using the internet.
introduce a small fee for all adult books issued. increase the reservation fee. charge for the use of computers to all users not on any benefits
Introduce coffee machines so that customers can buy tea or coffee, adding to the library funds. Also encourage people to donate books to their local library. I did not know that books are welcomed until recently
Introduce ebook download on a borrowing basis, which automatically deletes after the loan period has expired; with an opportunity to renew. Nominal fee for the loan period. Also you could introduce competitions that you pay a certain amount of money to enter and if you win you get a prize for winning and those who do not win will get a free bookmark. Introduce a sponsor a book scheme, where people can donate a book or money to their local library. Get a library mascot l ke african snails, stick insects or a hamster.
introduce some chargeable activities. im sure most mums would not mind contributing a œ1 for wiggle jiggle etc.
Invest in the library, making it more attractive and offering more services, therefore ensuring that more people use it and the council and the community gets better value from it in the long term.
Invest more in libraries to make money rather than closing them. Aim to make them more part of the 21st century by adding 'coffee bars', a place that is more a hub of the community, with drop in advice centres etc. Libraries also need more investment in up to date books. Find ways of sponsorship from local companies. Also, charge small amounts for use of computers.
investigate finding savings elsewhere in the budget other than closing
Investigate how voluntary support can lessen costs. Consult with key user groups e.g. Mum's and toddlers, schol age pupils, unemployed and elderly to confirm times when they most use the library and tailor opening hours to suit. Ensure they are developed into more multipurpoose facilities to enable wider community access at times when the library is closed.
Invite donation of second hand books Use volunteers to man desk Sell coffee - everyone seems to need to drink it these days
Invite the large coffee chains to have a kiosk within the library. By supporting / sponsoring the library this demonstrates real corporate social respons bility and shows that these organsiations really care about their customers aka the community.
isn't it YOUR job to solve these problems???
It does sometimes seem to me that local libraries are overstaffed. Perhaps this could be looked at. A minimal charge for each book, cd etc might also be considered if it helped to keep libraries open
It is difficult to know without knowing how the funding works. But in most cases staff costs are uppermost. With regard to our library it rarely appears overstaffed so the only other suggestion I can make is increase in fines or
charges and ruthless negotations with landlords if you do not own the premises. I would not be adverse to see a modest increase in the council tax.
It is difficult to save money with libraries because to do so, would no doubt affect the effectiveness of them. For example, there would be little point in cutting back on the books or the use of computer facilities as this is the very reason for them.
It is difficult to suggest a feasible idea, since I do not know all details of the financial expenditure. But maybe large local firms could support their local l brary for free advertising on the premises.
It may be that some rationalisation of library services might be possible, particularly where the social impact of a library closure would be relatively small. This might be where a library which is usually accessed by transport has an alternative library close by, or where a l brary is not heavily relied upon for social interaction. However, my own view is that the amount that stands to be saved by library closures is insignificant when seen in comparison to the savings that could be made by local authorities in less visible services (such as tree protection and bat welfare) and by the more efficient use of manpower.
It seems the location and accessibility of Bradmore Green is one of it's biggest assets and so closing the library for a few days a week would be better than closing in preference to just using the Coulsdon branch.
It seems to me that closing libraries is very short sighted, as with more redundancies people will need to use the facilities of the library more for the internet etc. I don't have the answers for saving monies for the borough as a whole, but libraries are a vital community resource.
It would appear from the savings figures presented that these represent staffing costs only. Obviously the closure of some l braries could also produce a capital gain from the sale of the site. Our libraries provide an essential space for the education of our children. Afternoon only opening might be considered if absolutely necessary. Closing l braries will deprive many children of the chance to acquaint themselves with books. In mt experience of visiting libraries quite a few children use then after school. I would rather have an increase in Council Tax because libraries are a mark of our civilisation and provide an essential centre for reading, study and home-work, internet
access, information dessemination, etc, etc. There are plenty of other areas where savings can be effective, Street Lighting, for example. The Barbarians at at the gate!
It would be possible to run half days only making sure the times of day/evening are adequately covered thus reducing staffing, heating and lighting costs It would be worth exploring the concept of volunteers helping some professional staff run branch libraries.
It would have been nice to have been provided with an expenditure (pie) chart so we could comment on where funds are currently spent.
It would seem that funds have already been raised by introducing fines on children's late books. Also dvd loans seem to have increased recently. However, as a community we would be very happy to support the library any way we can. We expect the council to provide services for us, but we are more than willing to help. Funding for resources we cannot provide. Volunteering for certain days a week, helping in the l brary and coordinating some of the community groups we can do. We need the council to take the lead and offer us some ways in which we can help. Threatening to close the library is such a neagetive first step. Why not seek the help and support which would not only save money but bring about a more positive atmosphere.
It's too late. Library service must have spent a lot of money modernising Thornton Heath library (it looks awful from the outside) and now there's no money left. If you have to do something reduce the opening hours. keep all of them open but if you have to save money then do so by making staff work across the libraries and have them open over fewer days in the week
Keep the libraries , which are essential, and cut back on expnditure that doesn.t benefit the whole community.
Keep the libraries, and reverse the decision to raise all the councillors salaries.Also,delay the rebuilding of council offices until finances are in better shape.If you don't find better ways of tackling the disgusting deficit we have inherited you will find yourselves out of office,never to return.
Keep to books and computers only and scrap videos etc.
Leave my school alone- don't make it bigger. Don't waste money on silly things.
Leave the libraries alone and look elsewhere to save money. You don't have to look very far to see needless spending. Leave the libraries alone they are ours!
Leave the librarys for wich we pay council tax and cut the wages of the bosses in Taberner House.
Lending books to schools. Despite the fact that I am a teacher who has had books lent by Purley libabry and enjoyed using them, keeping track of the books in class was difficult and ultimately across the borough I'm sure books must get lost. The man hours alone must mount up looking for these books.
less libraries would be a good idea people use internet more,so buying less books wouldbe better charing for internet useeven subsadised would creat some money higher fines for later returns Less paid staff - use the "big society"! There are many in the community who would help. There are many community groups who would be involved.
Less parties in the park
Less staff at Coulsdon - there are sometimes more staff that customers. Make the Coulsdon L brary a learning hub with access to computers, coffee shop, local events, homework / babysitting clubs - things that make money but are useful
LESS STAFF WORKING LONGER HOURS. OPENING TIMES REDUCED
less staff, more computerised service
Lessen the days which the library is open. Volunteers to help out on a rota system.
Let community groups run the library. Use volunteers to provide the staff Look at working with small busineses especially those related to second hand books, music, computing, and other knowledge transfer. Libraries are a tradition to cherish. The social cost of closing them would far outstrip any petty saving.
Libraries are a very important part of social structure and it would be a shame to cut this service in any way. The inclusion of more children's activities and adult author meetings has made our local library very v brant and much busier. There are fewer books and less staff now due to previous cutbacks and I think it would be a backward step to cut any further.
Libraries are an easy target, but they are the wrong target for savings. Libraries bring communities together and facilitate learning. The benefit they bring far exceeds the costs for running them. The Council needs to be fighting
back against the pressure for cuts.
Libraries are an important local community resource and wherever possible should not be closed. Surely it would be better to make some staff savings by grouping some, for example Broad Green and Norbury, or South Norwood and Shirley and have them operate for half a week each using one set of staff. This would maintain the facility and provide the option to return to full time opening as and when the economy improves.
Libraries are not money-making institutions. We need to pay for them. Money can be saved by improving efficiency and streamlining administration, but the œ90 million saving must be made elsewhere.
Libraries are not perceived as an essential service, but do provide structure to the lives of those vulnerable in the community. It would be difficult to bring in sufficient funds from educational books or video sales or diversifying too much. Maybe facilities could be used more for groups when l braries are closed to public or librarians expertise utilised more to bring in funds; charging the private sector for services.
L braries are part of the fabric of our society. Close libraries and the fabric is damaged. Seek volunteers to man libraries. Response would be a measure of how serious the issue is..
L braries are such a valuable resource and community base that saving money in this area becomes more costly on a long term basis for society as a whole. Libraries should not be cut we risk sending out the message to upcoming generations that reading isn't important at a time when literacy skills are declining. Maybe overpaid footballers and bankers should be encouraged to plough their excess millions into library provision!!
L braries could be opened for fewer days. The days when they're closed they could be used by other providers - for instance start-up businesses, groups who've had to lose their existing premises - thus providing the Council with an income as well as keeping staff (albeit with a cut in pay).
L braries have managed with budget cuts before without being closed. The ridiculous amount of money spent on the stupid thornton heath sign was a waste, we don't want trendy looking libraries, we want books and internet access, and quality staff that can help the public. Making more use of the stock rotation service, libraries can continue to provide a good quality of service without spending a fortune. Many members of the public happily donate books to the l brary, this can be advertised more so that more people are aware that libraries do take donations.
L braries need greater promotion. With increased use, councils could make money from additional services provided such as DVD rental. However, saving money now by closing libraries would be counter-productive in the longet term as there would be a negative impact on the development of children and learning materials for adults would be harder to access.
L braries need to remain open in terms of the educational value to all ages. Maybe the defecit could be made up from the loss of quangos within the council.
L braries need to stay open as they do marvellous work to encourage children to read and develop a love of books. No penny pinching will compensate for a life lacking in a love of literacy
L braries offer such a invaluable service, why is Croydon Council even thinking about closing down l braries?! Please talk to schools too and think about the effects this will have upon the literacy abilities of the children in the community. Surely we should be encouraging the use of this service. How about mobile libraries?
libraries were an introduction to the world of books and education for me and expanded my horizon. They are now becoming important to my children and I am sure many others. Educational resources are important for the the future of our communities and country, especially for the most vulnerable and should not be considered for cuts
L brary expenditure is very small in the context of total Council spending. I would rather see cuts elsewhere. I do not need new street-lamps. I do not wish to encourage even more foreigners to settle in my locality by paying them benefits and giving them housing. I can think of a large number of Council posts which unlike those of librarians bring little or no discernible good to the people of Croydon.
library open less days a week and increase fines and rental hire library should be open less days a week
L brraies could close for an extra day in the week and at lunchtimes to reduce staffing costs. Rotate adult and junior stock more between branches so there is more variation and the stock does not become stagnant and
unappealing. This would encourage people to use the libray more. Have outside agencies run events, for example a health visiotor to promote baby health etc. Different professionals working together to provide a service that is informative and gets people into the libraries to see whats on offer. Norbury Library has a hall upstairs which is not used at present. Hire it out to community groups or for events to raise much needed money.
limit opening
Limit opening hours Sponsored events and sections
Limit the number of days/hours each library opens, rather than closing individual libraries. For many people the important thing is to have a facility that's local to them, even if it's not available every day. limited opening dats
Limited opening hours, introduce a small charge.
Link them with schools - which may solve two problems in one.
Local business sponsorship? Charging for services? Volunteer staff? Charitable status? Community fundraising? Summer stalls, teddy bears picnic? Development to include a coffee shop?
Local Libraries could charge a joining fee, and perhaps a per book borrowing fee (but not too high as would disadvantage poor people and penshioners who are the very people who benefit from the library service). Possibly the private sector could sponsor or pay a cont bution to their local l braries.
Local people need local jobs, it will cause not only a loss for the community but for employees.
Look at all the book purchasing options to see if there are more cost effective ways of buying. Encourage people to donate nearly new books to their local library andthen send any unwanted books (from these) to local charity shops. Ask for voluntary contributions for children's activities.
Look at opening hours
Look at other areas of council spending to save money. Stop building housing for immigrants and supporting them, look at suppporting the local British born tax payers or risk losing office next time round
Look at successful model of alternative ways to run libraries such as Upper Norwood. Diversify use the spaces more wisely- run more course, work in partnership with school and colleges etc. Run it as a business- rentals, book sales, newsagent- whatever it takes
Look at the Buckinghamshire model,set up as a charity The l braries are staffed by volunteers but have a management team. Ask for lottery money. Get council officials to work at the libraries & deal with the public
direct.Alternative to council redundancies..
Look elsewhere for cuts i nthe Council budget. Consider asking users to pay a modest sum for the upkeep of the l brary. Consider a catering franchise to supplement library funds Make a minimal annual fee to belong to the library this will help towards the running costs. Open so many days a week to save on bills.
Make a small charge for taking out books and CD/DVD's. Sell coffee, œ1 a cup at least, save me having to go to Starbucks.
Make a small charge for the use of computer facilities. Although I would hate anyone to lose their jobs, I would rather there was a job cut than a facility closure. Increase fines for overdue items.
Make all reference books available online to every resident of Croydon -- reducing the need for space and staff. The purchase of such online resources should be done on a London-wide basis -- reducing their cost to individual boroughs. The more flexible working practices which are currently being introduced will make a real difference to staff costs.
Make cuts at the council headquarters instead. Make cuts elsewhere leave the libraries alone
Make cuts in services outside of libraries first. Why do we keep being told this is non-statutory? It is a statutory service! 1964 act I think. Income from hire of building to interest groups outside of opening hours or unused areas
during opening hours e.g is there usable space downstairs? Pay freeze across council staff. Fundraising by local area to support library Sponsorship from local/national companies Reduced hours of opening. Make higher charges for overdue books.
Make it a fee paying (low for pensioners) organization with higher charges for overdue items.
Make it a voluntary service, like charity shops. A more efficient use of the space so other activities can take place there (mother and baby groups/ pilates and yoga classes for example) Anything that does not turn these wonderful buildings into a luxury flat!!!
make sure people return their books or increase the level of people returning books. Or do a charity campaign
Make sure the Sanderstead Librarians are transferred to Selsdon, if Sanderstead were to close. I find the Sanderstead staff very friendly and accomodating, and in Selsdon I feel like an inconvenience and nuisance. Probably another huge reason I like Sanderstead Library.
Make the leaders of the council take a pay cut, and to remove from the Mayor the car that he/she uses.
Make use of buildings (for exmaple hall above Norbury, an initial input of money to create disabled access would then allow for the hall to be hired bringing in revenue.) Allow charities/community groups to hire buildings outside of opening hours for meetings, etc at a rate per hours or per session. Allow outside agencies to use the facilities during or outside of openning hours at a rate per hour or per session.
Making greater use of volunteers to staff libraries. Getting organisations like coffee bars or other retailers into libraries to draw customers and pay rent. Getting community groups to rent library space - for example meeting
rooms.
Making the library building more attractive like the the Thornton Heath and Ashburton, would bring more people in. Adding a cafe to it not only will generate income for the library , but will also improve the area's image. The recent road enhancment of replacing the asfalt with bricks on Clifford road which diverted bus routes and caused more traffic jams that made the residents unhappy, demonstrates that the Croydon council is not short of money.
Therefore, the council not doing unnesesarry road surface replacements will save huge money and the question of l brary closure will not occur. Thank you.
Making the library part-time, for example Shirley Library open Monday - Wednesday and Ashburton open Thursday - Saturday
Making their user wider. A child may want to read the latest Harry Potter, a teenager may need to do homework or want to research finding a place at university, an adult may need to apply for jobs or use publications relevant to starting a new business and an OAP may want to do family research or find out how to start up a community group for retired people. The fact is that there is a chance to make the libraries at risk a more varied community reseach resouce.
Making them more of a community hub- put other council services in there- as often they are focal in small communities. Get donated books to save money ordering popular books
Maximise the potential for use by the local community when the l brary as such is officially closed. This would generate income from charities and other groups wanting space for meetings. The libraries could also become more community centred and enabling a place for young and old to meet.
May be having a cafe inside the library, therefore, attracting more people to attend libraries and also generating an income from the cafe. maybe a mobile service?
Maybe a small charge could be made for borrowing books, or a charge could be made for adult books and not childrens
Maybe a way to save money would be for 2 local l braries to share their opening hours during the week. A friends of the library group could be set up for locals to help finance the library.
Maybe charging local groups for using library space after normal hours. Or charging businesses for display space/advertising in a l brary. Looking at the energy efficiency of the buildings. Having more online services or a person at the end of a phone. Or how about shutting each library for an extra day a week rather than closing any one library. Or shutting for longer periods in the winter to save on heating bills - say shutting for the last week of every month?
Maybe close one day a week, for example on a Monday so the staff have a 2 day weekend. Offer classes that will interest people, e.g. computer courses, adult education, drawing, etc. Perhaps look into opening a nursery in a separate area/room in the l brary.
Maybe close two days a week instead of one. Run charged for training courses, eg IT Have more items that are paid for, eg language courses on CD/DVD, wider choice of DVDs for hire Have a simple cafe - eg for Bradmore
Green there is no local cafe/coffee shop
maybe closing all libraries concerned 1 day a week to save money. all libraries concerned are important to all the local communities concerned. what about closing a library in the south of the borough? in my experience the north of the borough all ways seems to get a bad deal ! if i had to choose i would close sanderstead library.
maybe decrease opening times
Maybe evaluate staffing levels to see if savings can be made by more efficient use of staff. Maybe libraries can share Librarians and reduce the number of L brarians over all the Libraries and increase the responsibilities of L brary Assistants which I assume are a lower salary position. Look at ways of increasing revenue in libraries - selling eBooks for example.
Maybe introduce some classes there for modest fee.Eg daytime bookclub, talks, language lessons.sewing knitting, Health advice etc. Hire of premises in evening. All the children activities but maybe for small fee. Maybe more things could happen in a l brary that could bring in money & widen its usage, like a creche, or short courses & classes, or talks. Things that will attract more of the community but also bring in revenue. Maybe not so many staff working there at one time or more only at busy times
Maybe open later or close early during the week. maybe reduce opening hours
Maybe reduce the number of hours/days that the l braries are open Maybe shorter opening hours and even volunteers
Maybe STOP trying to think of ways to save money ,but ways to generate money. Maybe the Town Clerk and other HOD's could take a pay cut
Maybe they could be open one day less?
Maybe they could open fewer days. Please don't close Shirley.
Maybe think about ways to raise revenue for libraries - selling books, eBooks, for example. Use of volunteers.
Maybe using some volunteer staff, I'm sure there are many people who would give up some time each week. Obviously they would not take the place of professional staff but could help out with more mundane tasks Maybe you could have less councillors as they seem to be paid quite a lot for not doing anything very useful. Do we really need that many in Sanderstead?
Maybe you could make a very nominal charge for borrowing books. If you charged just 5p per book, I am sure that boroughwide that would soon mount up. I think that as long as it were kept that small and the council didn't start to up it yearly as they do with parking charges, people may not object to paying it if it meant they could keep their local l brary.
Maybe you could sell advertising space on some of the walls? Or a campaign to get local people to donate any books that they've bought new and read once so others can borrow them?
Membership scheme
minimising printed literature that people do not read or takeaway
minimum charge of 5p or 10p per book loan for adult lending. a round number making it easy to collect. Libraries should be available to foster the education and development of younger people by providing a place to work and study. This would benefit Croydon by removing the need to provide alternate services for failed learning later in life (e.g. unemployment, illiteracy, delinquency).
Money saving measures have already been implemented at Sanderstead, such as reduced opening hours and reduced book stock. It is difficult to see how else the council could squeeze it. The local community is very keen to help, and we would be happy to fundraise for equipment/repairs or donate books. The council must realise how vital libraries are to ourselves and our children - it is an investment in the future and should be protected at all costs. Money saving schemes: * Stop purchasing short term best sellers which are now available cheaply from supermarkets etc. The purpose of a l brary should be principally about education not providing reading matter for the
beach; * Start selling coffee etc in libraries; Sanderstead has no competition in this area so for a small outlay there could be a transformation. My wife and I, for example, would have coffee there nearly every day! * Increase overdue fines and ensure they are collected; * Charge more for borrowing CDs and DVDs - they could still be cheap (and convenient) compared with rental shops or outright purchase; * Maximise buying power by joining with other local authorities. If an individual can save significant sums through buying from Amazon then a local authority must be able to do much better. * Make sure that staffing is minimised; there are too many staff on duty at
Sanderstead. They are never overworked and are often quite idle.
More and better use of online resources - ebooks etc. Increase links with local schools, liaise on acquisitions, target resources. Why not embrace the coffee shop culture if it gets more people interested - rent out the space to businesses. Money spent on helping people educate themselves is never wasted! Increase the resources/events/activities for young people, save on the police clearing them off the streets. The money saved by the figures you
quote on p. 1 is negligible in the face of the savings you say you are looking at. I assume you also expect to sell off the land and make a profit that way. This would be a terrible price to pay for govt. shortsightedness. And when the land is turned over to housing, that will simply mean more people wanting access to fewer resources.
More community involvement using volunteers. More use as a community centre for meetings. Self-serving Cafe facilities in all libraries. More donations of books. Volunteers.
More effective budget management by the council, rather than cuts in public services.
More enterprise. People at the l brary are constantly asking for stationary such as lined paper, pens, hole punches, staplers, tippex-the list goes on-maybe we could sell these? Time limit for free use of computers and after that charge. Coffee shops (sectioned off and away from the books). People sometimes fly post on the noticeboards maybe we could charge for notices. Protest at the main government for reducing how much it gives councils each year. Maybe do a special 'Croydon lottery'.
More Government financial support from the taxes we already pay.
More publicity of services such as faxing and copying, with relevant charges?. Increase the costs of DVD's? Have a local fundraising day, with games and raffels. A 100 club (like a lottery?) for regular users.
more targetted resources - careful matching of supply and demand with less in demand resources only available at certain locations but with inter -library loans. opening hours - are they appropriate for current usage?perhaps open later but close later -
More use as a commumity centre by altering the layout.
More use of other community spaces on the Ashburton model eg schools. Running them with more volunteers More volunteers
More volunteers helping and less employed staff. If all these people protesting about cuts to library services gave one hour of their time I'm sure the staffing bill for the library services would be reduced.
Most libraries are over heated. Reduce heating costs because most people spend only a short time in the library. Move or protect staff from draughts from main door. To identify the real need for computers charge a small fee and review results. Offer services that you can for which you can charge.
most of the l braries are underutilised at present, so closing some is really a good idea. then the remaining ones can be put to better use
MP's and local governmetn officals take a pay cut and stop claiming exspenses, know one else gets them so they should not. Most officals have more than one job and sit on boards and earn to lot for doing to little, the money saved from this could be pumped back into the community!
My closest library is Sanderstead. I feel that the library functions as more than just a book-lending facility. It is part of the community. I would want the community aspect to continue in that immediate vicinity. I don't think it is fair to
say that usrs can go to Selsdon since an elderly, weak or mother with pram/pushchair would struggle to get up Sanderstead HIll. There is no direct bus link so a return journey would require 4 bus journeys - it would be cheaper to buy a book on Amazon! Whilst I would want the community aspect to remain it is not vital that it remain in that exact building which is not fit for purpose; it is impossible to get 1 or 2 toddlers down the dangerous stairs to the loo. Please retain access to the local history/geography books.
My guess is that it is inevitable that there will be closures. In Sanderstead this is our only all ages amenity and it is efficient. The closure of Sanderstead brings the smallest savings, The south of the Borough has fewer amenities
full stop to take this away would be an act of robbery Broadgreen the largest with new local facilities available.
My idea and poss ble solution would be to open /expand the libraries situated inside local schools (a designated school in the curent catchment area should be identified) to continue on with the services provided by local authority libraries. The resources of local libraries could be given to the schools in addition a small fund to employ an additional l brarian or assistant if required. Indeed it my not be ideal for those who like to use the library's in the day
time for reading clubs, under 5's etc, though this could be over come by using a portacabin also situated on the school grounds. The libraries would also be able to stay open much later to accommodate the wider community. I hope this helps. Kind Regards
My immediate first thought would be the to cut the unnecessary expenditure of new council offices. In the days when Norbury Library was first built and opened the the council took civic pride seriously and had reason to be proud
of its provisions. Prestigious office blocks did not the appear to be essential to well run services. My second thought would be that if our senior council officials and "executives" were not so generously remunerated the savings could go a long way to keeping our l braries open.
My local library (Sanderstead) is a valued, well used and popular resource that serves me and numerous other local people well. Closure of this (or any other library) represents approx. 1/1000 of Croydon's required saving (œ98k
out of œ90M) yet would be of huge impact within the borough, removing such wonderful educational resources for such little gain. 98K represents (oncosts and employee contributions included) the salary of approx 2 members of relatively senior LA staff or a fraction of an executive salary. (The Advertiser reports that you are paying an 'education advisor' œ18k/month - surely providing a l brary to a community is better value than paying 5 months salary to a single person) I simply cannot believe that the council is willing to deprive a community of vital and beneficial educative resources for such a small return. If you need to see library provision as 'must make us some money' rather that 'a service that benefits the community', then perhaps you could install coffee shops, make a charge for groups that use the facility, ask that people contr bute toward the books used for book clubs. In this digital world, there are still many people who don't have internet access and you play a vital part in connecting these people. Perhaps expanding and charging for IT services is a route that you could consider. It seems that you have made no
efforts to install any programmes/infrastructure to gain monies from libraries, yet complain that they cost too much to run. I would remind you that you as a council are there to support and provide services for you tax-paying communities. Many people feel they get very little back from their monthly council tax bill and closing libraries will be a slap in their faces. I am absolutely disgusted at the mean-spiritedness of Croydon Council at even considering cutting the educative tools for a community, especially as the result would be so damaging for a community, and the saving so minimal.
Mybe reduce opening times, extend / implement lunch time closures, use of local people Needs investment as this is an old building
negotiating deals with publishers to get better deals or removing some of the CD's and DVD's as they can be borrowed from blockbuster etc. Also a self service counter or only open in the afternoon.
No decisions regarding library closure should be made until an appraisal of alternative use options in respect of the library sites has been made by the Council's Estate Surveyor. Some buildings may be well suited to continuing use with alteration or improvement to improve the economics of operation. The financial decision should be properly informed by professional property advice.
No. You cannot reduce library expenditure after years of underfunding and combined with the reduction of school l brary budgets or the partial complete closure of school libraries. None
None. The provision of the library is costly but essential if the community is to continue to promote equality and develop educational ambition in the population.
norbury
Norbury has a meeting room that could be hired out to raise revenue. Why couldn't an area of the library be rented out to accommodate a coffee shop, many others do. The library could negotiate a rent for the space and perhaps a percentage of the revenue!
Not Government funded housing cost, sell off some housing stock and start to buy mortgage recovered housing, in turn helping the community however earning revenue from rent etc not sure really couldnt imagine it costs a fortune to open compared to how croydon concil wastes money on other things that are not as important.
Not to build so many new offices and save money on christmas lights.
Obtain sponsorship from local businesses for updating books and computers (eg Pet shops for books on animals and Curry's or PC World for updating computers) You could offer free advertising for those willing to participate. Offer a full range of services and promote them more to the community.
offer more dvds - educational and films, and maybe even games for consoles such as wii, ps3 etc...
Offering a meeting or venue place at the Central Library and other approriate libraries for private organisations to host functions at training sessions a reasonable rate. On saving our Libraries perhaps some of our Senior could be paid less an the money put better use ie Librereies --- atl least Libreries are useful
Once a library closes it may be impossible ever to open it again (perhaps the building will be used for something else, What will happen to the books?). Hence my preference would be to have minimal opening hours to save money rather than closures.
one could introduce moderate fees for some of the services,i would be ok with paying a bit for internet use f.inst.
One of the biggest jobs in the library is returning books to their shelves after they come back from lenders. They have to be put back precisely in their place on the shelf by pushing books apart to place a book. My Solution: An additional number should be given to each book (either A1 A2 or so on or 1 or 2 or 3 or so on ) Accordingly each shelf would get a number A1or A2 or 1or 2or 3 and so on. Now when a book is to be returned to the shelves they simply get put back according to their shelf number ANYWHERE on that shelf.
One way would be to close on a Monday as well as wednesday Online lending Mobile library
Only open half days
Only, as a last resort, partial opening hours should be considered. When finances are healthier, a return to full time opening hours. Libraries are places where people prep for interviews, research careers, services etc. Very important in today's economic climate. If you want to develop independent thinking, entrepreneurial ideas and encourage learning, then this library can't go.
Opem 2 or 3 days per week, or half days where appropriate. Opening a full day on Saturday would be very beneficial for many, many families. Have a paid supervisor or visiting manager across several libraries and volunteers for rest of time
Open 3-4 days a week including Saturdays for the full-time worker's.
Open a cafe similar to the one at Dulwich Park which would make a profit and help attract more people into the libraries. Get sponsorship from local businesses (Tesco, Waitrose etc) to run courses and kids activities. Get young people doing Duke of Edinburgh etc to assist in libraries on a voluntary basis - ask them for ideas on how to develop services to suit young people better - what would they be prepared to pay for.
Open at different hours ie less during quiet tiems of day-but later evenings where more people could access the services Open for fewer days rather than closing altogether.
Open in the morning, close afternoons, or Saturdays.
Open less days a week.
Open lesss often rather than close them, the locality is important, as I can still walk there. I know the staff and value the service and support I recieve at Sanderstead. My grandson is gaining from the children's group- such an important start to his learning, loving books and the expereince that is special to a l brary for future learning.
Open only four days a week instead of the present 6 days also could reduce the opening times as long as we still have the facility in Shirley we would get accustomed to new days and times Open some smaller libraries only on certain days and share the staff around them. Libraries are often used by older people who might find it difficult to go the extra mile to another branch Open the libraries on fewer days.
Open the library 1 hour later each day
Open up 3/4 days a week AND MAYBE CLOSE EARLIER
Opening all but central croydon on a rota say sanderstead on Mondays shirley on tuesdays etc. Using the same staff across more than one library
Opening hours could be reduced, but this should be done AFTER consulting with users, not imposed out of hand as with South Norwood. Opening hours shorter rather than closing the library totally (either whole days or half days)
Opening later, employing volunteers. Opening later?
opening only 3 times per week
Organise & train volunteers to give 1 day a week or fortnight on a rota, to help with suitable tasks in the l brary, releasing/ reducing permanent staff thus reducing costs. I f closures are inevitable, reinstate mobile libraries in those areas to help particularly the older/ infirm communities
Organise and train volunteers to give one day a week or fortnight, on a rota, to help out with suitable tasks in the library, releasing/ reducing paid staff, thus reducing costs. If closures are inevitable, reinstate mobile libraries in those areas to help particularly the older/ infirm communities.
Our library could be used for more community activities there is the space
Part time opening Invite donations of books - our local residents Assoc has given some books in recent years Volunteer opening for Library assistants Part time opening, eg Shirley open Monday to Wednesday and Ashburton open Thursday to Saturday.
Part-time opening hours. Employing retired people and young people, under the supervision of qualified librarians. Energy efficiency improvements to the buildings. pay council executives less
Pay more council tax Reduce other services, reduce cost on bulilding new council offices.
Pay MPs and high up civil servants less than the extortionate amounts they already earn - let them make sacrifices l ke the rest of us have to Pay the managers less and keep the staff who work with the customers face to face.
Pay those at the tope less
People give away loads of books once they have read them - surely libraries could ask more people to donate unwanted books instead of buying new ones. Librararies should be inventive and think of ways to generate money and not just save money
Perhaps a voluntary donation when taking books out would be welcomed by customers if faced with the alternative of closure.
Perhaps ask some of the local schools whose pupils use Broad Green libraries a lot to help run them. For those children without computers, it would be devastating to have to travel to do their homework, etc. Perhaps better management of the library assets to reduce costs, and also better staff costings. Also charging fees for certain services like internet may help minimise budgets.
Perhaps change the opening times so that they are not open quite as long. Thus the facilities are still available and some money would be saved. It is a great shame to completely shut down ANY library as they are great seats of
learning. Closing them down will give the impression to youngsters that learning and knowledge isn't important. There are already far too many ignorent people in London without shutting down libraries.
Perhaps charge for some of the services that are currently free, like rhyme time etc. Where the l brary is big enough, have some kind of cafe (such as Costa) to rent some space and encourage people in to spend some money. Think l ke the churches had to, what else can this space be used for when it isnt a library? Can they be adapted so the book shelves can be moved back opening the space to be hired by groups like brownies or fitness groups.
Perhaps close Saturday afternoon or two days in the week. Close all the branch libraries as above, obviously not all on the same day. Have a rotas of volunteers - only one volunteer at a time. Get them to comit to a regular time. Get them to fill in an application form and interview them for the job. Put extra facilities into the branch libraries - connections, coffee shops, meeting rooms, internet cafe, sports facilities, retirement clubs, craft clubs, computer club, science club - the list is endless - these clubs could provide income. Ask people to pay a subscription to join the library. Think about making money not trying to save it.
Perhaps each of the l braries you consider closing, could open for, say, 3 days each week. For example: if Norbury library were to open on Monday, Wednesday & Friday, perhaps Thornton Heath library could open on Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday (the days when Norbury library is closed. Or, Norbury library could open on 3 consecutive days, say, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thornton Heath library could open Thursday, Friday & Saturday. That way, fo k in the neighbouring areas, could attend the library that is open and not be inconvenienced unduly.
Perhaps if a nominal charge hourly charge was introduced for computer use or internet access.
Perhaps if each l brary opened for 5 days a week and not six but spreading those days evenly througout the borough
Perhaps in the larger libraries rooms could be hired out to local groups for meetings etc. I would not be opposed to paying a nominal annual fee for library services. Obviously, exceptions would have to be made for certain groups eg elderly and those on benefits.
Perhaps introduce a 10p. charge per loan (CD,books,DVD).Also a nominal charge,say 10p. to attend a group lecture.Hire out library.
Perhaps introduce an annual membership fee to get a premium service (i.e. you can borrow more books, get a lower rate on CD/DVD rentals, lower fines, priority on reservations etc.) but maintain a basic free service (l ke Amazon Prime)
Perhaps just cut down on the opening hours as opposed to a total closure. The closure woyuld have such a great effect to the schools and people of Old Coulsdon. perhaps libraries could sell courses for other institutes or organisations and earn commission that way from those affiliates
Perhaps local libraries could be open every other day so that they are available for people to use on a regular basis but this would cut down on overheads in terms of heating and staffing costs.
perhaps make a small charge (ie 5p) to borrow books? (not for childrens books) increase fines for late returns?
Perhaps more sharing of resources between library services in the area - sharing of toys, books, dvd's etc. I am aware this is already being done - but I do not know if this is being fully exploited. I expect it is. Perhpas a room could be hired out and staffed by volunteers slightly later in the evenings for community events, such as local history walks/ta ks, or small groups e.g. 'learn to play' guitar, cardmaking and craft classes, knitting groups, gardening
or flower arranging classes. It should not just be about books. It should have a proper community learning feel - all types of learning, covering interests for all ages.
Perhaps move the staff on part-time basis to save staff salary cost.
Perhaps open one hour later or close one hour earlier on weekdays
perhaps part ime oepning hours, sometimes open only a half day. Staffing to be only one person in smaller libraries, unless activities are happening when the activity leader could be shared amonst a set of locla libraries. this might mean moving the time when these activities occur.
Perhaps reduce opening hours, and share across the l braries where the associated l brary activities take place. I understand that cuts will affect many services, but I think the closure of l braries sends a very disappointing signal about the degree to which we, as a country, value culture.
Perhaps reduce the hours that they open
Perhaps reduced hours or two days closure each week. If this would help keep the local l brary open then it may be helpful to restrict opening times. Perhaps reduction of some opening hours
Perhaps run a scheme where older pupils can be released from schools for periods of time to help the librarians with manual tasks. Close all libraries for lunch. Hire out rooms, run evening events for extra charge. Perhaps shorter opening hours, some volunteer staff Charge for using computers, if only a nominal amount in some cases
Perhaps shorter opening hours. Opening a small cafe on site would create revenue and make it even more a part of the local community. Charge more for DVD/video rental and late books. Sell older books....
Perhaps some weekdays could be closed but really I think that this money should be found from other sources. Wandsworth and Lambeth Council are making the same cuts but are NOT closing any libraries. Furthermore I deal with Croydon Council's many different departments on a regular basis and I find that on the most part there is a lot of inefficiency and wasted time and needless paperwork, which ultimately makes for a lot of wasted money.
Perhaps the libraries should consider charging for the use of the computers and accessing the internet in the libraries and concentrate on books. Perhaps the opening times could be reduced.
Perhaps the use of the building after hours for community groups might raise extra revenue. Perhaps there could some kind be a public/private partnership with local businesses perhaps think about opening at different times to serve a wider customerbase .
Perhaps you could close for three days a week and only open for four
Perhaps you could keep one paid staff members and get volunteers to help. You could also be open only a few days- say Thursday to Saturday
Perhaps, for newer books, there could be a scheme in which a small charge is incurred (10-20p) in order to help keep the library running. Late return of children's books could also be charged for. It would probably be best to close down the Ashburton Learning Village Library as, though it is newly refurbished, to be honest it is not in an area where the need for a library is very great
Place a speed camera on Sanderstead Road, where some, or many(!), people see fit to drive 50mph in a 30 zone. Most people do not actually mind speed cameras if they are placed fairly, especially as nearly everyone knows
someone involved in an RTA. The placing of a camera on this particular road makes complete sense if the proceeds from it allowed the much loved library to stay open. Possibly ask for local volunteers to assist in maintaining the libraries to reduce the cost of running them.
Possibly asking people to donate books (used or new)
Possibly close some libraries. Reduce opening hours at at the larger libraries so that the reduction in services is fair.
Possibly curtailing opening hours - ideal for people such as myself who are retired but not maybe for those who work. Maybe a volunteer service could be provided if enough people were interested - a rota system could be set up ensuring that no-one would need to work for too long.
possibly cut costs by reducing opening hours,look at staff levels,cut back on buying books/dvds-rotate them more often Possibly cut down I.T facilities to help save money
Possibly go down the same route as Surrey County Council are doing by staffing smaller libraries with volunteers from the community. Possibly have a mix of some voluntary staff working under a paid head of staff.
Possibly have one less member of staff at each l brary. Possibly close one hour earlier.
Possibly limit opening hours to 3 days a week, although one of the days should be Saturday and the Central Library should keep to it's present hours Possibly slightly shorter opening hours? Private/local companies sponsoring learning or events
Postponement of the refurbishment that is required until more proseprous times. Diversion of funds for the publication of Your Croydon and other such political publications to keeping the l brary open. Reduction of opening hours to ensure that the library stays open in the short to medium term. Ig the l brary closes it is highly likely it will ever open again as a library!
Prehaps reduce hours of opening, for review in a pescribed period, but do not close as this would be a major blow to the community
Presumably the majority of the cost of a l brary is on staff and building and this is where cuts would be most effective - there is no point, for example, in reducing the amount spent on books / journals since this cost is minimal and the negative impact of a reduction in spending in this areas would greatly outweigh the benefits. When refurbishments / improvements are required, encourage the local community to volunteer over a weekend for example to perform the work, rather than hiring expensive professionals to carry out the task; reconsider staffing needs and perhaps employees can temporarily work fewer hours for a set period of time and reduce salary pro-rata (an unpopular choice for the employees, however, most staff at private firms have had to make similar sacrifices during the recession).
Progressive taxation to pay for it!!!! Seeing as this is not the ideological line of the government, perhaps improving interlibrary loan systems (online booking) to reduce amount of stock needed.
Provide E-books to rent out along the lines of the Kindle store that can be renewed or expired as required. For less used libraries open them every other day, or alternating between morning or afternoon. Charge a fee if some one wants to extend the loan of books beyond the initial loan Try to create revenue, for example, by putting coffee shops in them, or getting businesses to sponsor them. Provide Post Office services in libraries where there have been Post Office closures.
Provide more services to make money, for example: sell stationary such as pens, pencils, rubbers, rulers, calculators, paper, pencil cases, highlighters, permenant markers, crayons and colouring pencils among other things such as workbooks, revision guides, USB sticks etc... Also, you could charge for getting a new library card if the person loses the old one after the first time and onwards not after loosing the card a second time. Also, you could cut back on less essential services for example: providing a newspaper or magazines to read each day, since these are alot cheaper and can be afforded whereas books and audio CDs cannot as they are far more expensive.
L braries could also be used to teach small courses in the evenings in computing, english, maths etc.... The libraries could also be used as buildings for self help groups, saving money by using the same building rather than another building on top of the l braries being owned. The libraries could be rented out for the use by companies for books and computers in the evenings.
Public libraries are an emblem for a civilized society and they should be protected and supported. Volunteers may be able to help save money.
Put a freeze on the purchase of new books, encouraging donations from the community of either new or used books. Introduce a small 5p charge for borrowing books. Just don't close the libraries - it is cultural vandalism.
put fines on children's books Put the late fees up.
Put the late fees up.
put up dvd rents, libarys open for a shorter time to save staff funding
Put up late return fines, Have a donation box in the l braries Ask for business sponsorship
Putting a price on the amount my children have gained from visiting sanderstead l brary is impossible. Without the l brary they wouldn't have the passion for books and reading that they do. The closure of libraries is very short sighted and will impact negatively on children and adults al ke in the local community. PLEASE DON'T CLOSE SANDERSTEAD LIBRARY.
raise charges for over due books. suggest small donations for clubs/groups 9eg. rhyme time) enlist volunteers to run groups/clubs
Rather than close libraries entirely, why not have less open days (ie close for two or even 3 days each week) or shorter opening hours for the least used libraries. There could be staff who work at two branches, which were open on alternate days.
Rather than close libraries, perhaps they could open on fewer days and opening times could be coordinated so that staff could move between libraries. This could save on staff costs, although any job loses would be regrettable. Rather than close specific l braries you should look to make the savings by making cut backs across all libraries.You could even open on selective days to save on staff wages, and a few overhead costs. Perhaps put a stop on purchases of new books for one year.
Rather than close the libraries, which would result in a permanent loss of resources and facilities, why not open the libraries only three or four days per week and share staff between libraries? Admittedly this would not produce a saving in all costs, for example maintenance costs would remain the same, but would result in savings in some running costs such as heating, electricity and staffing. In addition the resource of the library would not be
permanently lost.
rather than close them all, how about reduced opening hours. look at peak visitor numbers and decide accordingly. Provide more targeted services to the local community, l ke after school reading and homework clubs, Rather than looking at libraries as a soft target in saving money, we need to look at all of the services that are provided by the council with greater scrutiny! For example do we the council tax payers require so many top managers?
rather than lose it altogether, it could have reduced opening times, so that we can still use the facilities for study and internet, children after school etc.
Rather than thinking about closing down libraries and removing the average person's opportunities in life to learn and better themselves, why don't you consider asking the top people in the council to take a paycut. I see that the top 8 people in Croydon Council all earn over œ100k per year, which is actually alot more than the cost of some of these libraries. Even better remove these 8 people, and you'll save over œ1000,000. This way, you'll save the
local community and won't be seen as the usual hypocritical and greedy Tory only interested in themselves. 1: Jon Rouse - Chief Executive - œ195,300 2: Nathan Elvery - Executive director of resources and customer services - œ150,167.76 3: Hannah Miller - Executive director of adult services and housing - œ147,959.76 4: Lucy Goundry - Occupational health physician - œ113,194.44 5: Julie Belvir - Director of democratic and legal services - œ110,107.56 6: Anthony Middleton - Director of regeneration and infrastructure - œ104,985 7: Barbara PeacockAssistant director - œ102,993.48 8: Pamela Parkes - Director of human resources and organisational development
- œ102,015 Oh, and perhaps you could stop squandering millions on the new HQ as well.
Rather than thinking of how to save money, perhaps you could be thinking of ways that the l brary can make money ie booke sales, or encouraging authors to come along to talk to readers, taking a percentage of the profits etc. Rather than ways to save money, perhaps more ways to generate money. More 2nd hand book sales (could this be done on-line?). Book signings, where authors perhaps have to pay a fee for using the library or a percentage of the sales of their new book. Book events similar to those organised by the company The Book People.co.uk where a percentage of profits go to a charity. There was one such event held at Ikea before Christmas - I'm unsure if Ikea allowed free use of their premises, but what better place than a library to hold such an event?
realistic charge for printing / photo copying. small standard charge for children's book which are ill treated. what about small charge to join if you are from a working family? eg.œ1-œ5 fixed rate.
Realisticly price stock you sell to recuperate more of the cost of ex-library books. Encourage more people to renew and reserve online. Reduce the opening hours rather than remove libraries from communities altogether. Reduce purchasing periodicals that are not used so much any more.
Re-arrange the facilities to be able to hire out some space to a playgroup or activity group. Sell the second hand books more obviously Offer reading classes to those that struggle with their reading Re-configure opening times.
recycle save electric recycling all used paper.
Reduce central operating costs
Reduce council overheads - leave front line services alone Reduce councillors pay
Reduce days l brary open
Reduce hours if you have to. Combine with other council services.
Reduce hours rather than close; increase charges for overdue books etc
reduce number of book borrowed per user collect fines stop tickets for people who persistently did not return books reduce opening hours temporarily
Reduce number of opening hours per day or number of days open per week. Sell advertising space in libraries. Get companies to sponser a l brary. Rent library space to companies e.g coffee shop Ask for volunteers to help with running libraries.
Reduce opening during the week slightly at each library for a defined period with a promise to return to the status quo Reduce opening hours - maybe close one mroe day a week?
Reduce opening hours - this would save money without loosing buildings; With libraries which need work on the structure consider moving to newer smaller premises; Look to volunteers to help support libary; Reduce
expenditure on DVDs as these can be obtained elsewhere; Reduce book duplication; DO NOT REDUCE large print and audio as these are already undersupported; Consider dropping e-books as these take a long time to download and so are not really proactical at present.
Reduce opening hours / days
Reduce opening hours 30 mins each end of the day. Also selling commercial space in the l brary to coffee shops etc. Reduce opening hours across all l braries except the main Central Library, this would reduce operational costs. Reduce opening hours but do not close.Educational implications.
reduce opening hours e.g open less often during school hours increase fines for overdue books increase charges for borrowing dvd's increase number of chargable activites/events taking place in the library
Reduce opening hours if necessary.
Reduce opening hours so it's mainly open when kids aren't in school. Charge more for overdue books and charge more for DVD rental. Do more activities to get more people to come and pay to do them all. Do some writing competitions that cost one pound to enter. I WOULD. :D
Reduce opening hours. Volunteers.
Reduce opening times/days. Closure should be a last resort.
Reduce opening times/days-rather than closing branches altogether-therefore cutting staff costs. Look at ways to make money rather than save-small(therefore still affordable to most people) charges for certain services or groups,ie Rhyme time etc.
Reduce staff levels at l braries and at the Council's offices.
Reduce the amount of communication bumph through the letter box from Croydon Council. Stop this pretence that you are going to close this many libraries. It is only being done to convince the public that,when you don't close all of them, you have somehow achieved something. Closing any library is never a step forward, it is regressive.
Reduce the head office bureaucracy. In my experience over many years I have found Taberner House staff completely unhelpful. I would mention the planning department, food safety and trading standards departments in
particular who are completely useless. Whoever backed the idea of painting bicycle paths on the roads should also go. Bicycle paths need to be separated from vehicular traffic. Get rid of the dead wood using performance evaluations. Taberner House staff are just pushing paper.
Reduce the hours of opening in slower seasons. Reduce the staff or share the staff between libraries.
Reduce the money wasted on making new policy. Use the taxes I and the rest of the country pay to run services such as libraries. As a tax payer, I want my money spent on these services and not to line the pockets of MP's Reduce the number of computers.
Reduce the number of councillors and have 'full time' members only which would innitially increase prime cost but would reduce cost (expenses etc) over the medium term. Reduce the number of Councillors and thier pay
Reduce the number of days individual libraries are open and the number of staff by making them mobile between locations
Reduce the number of non-jobs in the council. Croydon should be cutting middle management and not front line services l ke libraries. reduce the number of printers / copiers / faxes and scanners and use networked mfds to reduce the number of machines
Reduce the number of staff as there are too many. Turn down tyhe heating and maybe have reduced opening hours. Have you thought about business sponsorship or a cafe? Charge adults 50p per hour for internet use as this is
cheaper than internet cafes.
Reduce the number of staff on duty. Sometime 3 or 4 staff in the library (2 should be the maximum). Cut staff terms and conditions (sick pay, annual leave etc). We have done this where I work and it has saved a lot of money and been more palatable than job cuts, reductions in pay or service reductions. I accept that Sanderstead library is not a good building. I doubt that there is money available to replace it, but if there was it could be moved to a
school site to save on running costs are release the current site. Capital from the sale of the site could help fund any new development.
Reduce the numbers of computers available for public use, particularly at the Central Library. Possibly reduce opening hours rather than closing a branch library. Reduce the salaries of Councillors who in the past were volunteers.
Reduce the salaries of Croydon's senior staff and councillors. reduce the salaries of the council executives
Reduce the salary of the Chief Executive and senior officers of the council, reduce the salary paid to the leader and cabinet members.
Reduce the services provided at the l braries rather than close them. If you must shut premises switch to library loans by post hosted e.g. by Love Film. (The TESCO DVD rental scheme for example is hosted by Love Film). Reduce the use of electricity, for example switching off computers when not in use
Reduced hours Student work experience post for a junior library assistant for basic library work. Voluneers Reduced Opening hours
Reduced opening hours Use of support volunteers to the regular staff Replace loss of mobile library by using volunteers to deliver books to the housebound Reduced opening hours and less staff just standing around not doing much.
Reduced opening hours or charging for some services
Reduced opening hours would be preferable to closure, provided that the hours the library service remained open were convenient for the community. Reduced opening hours.
Reduced opening hours.
Reduced opening hours. Close libraries in the north of the borough where there are far more facilities within a smaller area. Reduced opening hours. For example, being closed another day mid-week?
reduced opening times closed twice a week instaed of once
Reducing book buying.Focus on servics that are not available elsewhere. Make small charge for IT use Reducing opening hours. Turn heating down.
Reducing the hours they are open or Could look at reducing the number of staff at any one time
Reducing the library opening hours
Reducing wastage of energy especially at South Norwood library which is often over heated. Reduce wastage in other concil depts eg large amounts of publicity are produced which is often thrown away. Generate income Using the building on closed days for other activities Selling stationery and other items such as stamps would generate income. Joint use of premises especially with a commercial coffee shop
reduction of Councillors,& there salaries, poster campaigns telling croydon what great sports facilities Croydon, as a whole have, when we do not, money wasted on trying to gain city status , we are light years away !!! . Just like the Bankers created the problems in the banking industry (not the investers) The people of Croydon did not create the massive defecit , I would suggest it was the Councillors in charge of the budget .
Re-examine Chief Officers Salary structure. The method of assessment of salaries as reported to the "Scrutiny and Overview Committee" on 19th October demonstrates that the assessment has almost no objective criteria, is lead by one of the beneficiaries, and relies preponderantly upon peer comparison with other boroughs with a view to securing salaries well above the average for the peer group. In short, the method of appraisal, is unsafe, unsound, and is inherently corrupt. A 20% haircut on the bloated œ3 million bill for Chief Officers would achieve same saving as the proposed library closures, and provide a more satisfactory outcome.
Removal of computers and internet. Keep it to books/music!
Remove unnecessary bureaucracy from Taberner House. Re-think the expensive re-development of Taberner house, instead move to cheaper unoccupied office space in Croydon. Force a paycut on the "Cabinet" - let them lead their staff by showing they are prepared to do their bit for the local council tax payers.
Remove,or limit,free computers.Perhaps introduce a chargeMany people seem tospend considerable amounts of time using them fot entertainment.Surely not the best use of Council Tax. This is the most ill thought -out quetionaire I have ever encountered.Iseems designed for excuses not discussion.Question 1 for example! ..
Rent out any rooms for various functions.
Rent out space to businesses, eg cafes. Turn down the heating. Charge for more services you offer.
Request book donations. I would happily donate used paperbacks. Request volunteer helpers to man the library. I could offer 1/2 to 1 day a week. Request books then stock those particular books on a mobile library that you can go to, knowing the books you need are there.
Restrict the opening hours.
Restricting the hours libraries were available would be preferable to closing them altogether. They need to be open outside school and working hours, and also in the holidays. It might be worth doing some research to see when they are most used and by whom.
Return the troops from abroad and use the money to improve our communities so creating a 'bigger society'..
return to the core activities related to use & loan of books, important periodicals and their digital replacements letting space might raise funds
Review charges for DVD/CD hire; review late return penalites; consider charging for computer/internet use; consider an annual/lifetime levy on membership (library card). Given a choice between losing the l brary and making a contribution to its continued presence, I'd choose the latter.
Review Chief Executives salaries. The news that the council is paying œ850 a day to one worker is a bitter gall for the residents of Croydon. The unemployed, the sick and poor will be disproportionately disadvantaged by the
proposed vandalism to services and service provision in the borough.
review library staffing. There are too many staff for the size of library increase fees for overdue books increase fees for computer usage shorter opening times
Review opening hours and consider different levels of service at various times. Buy fewer books which have limited shelf life. Can books borrowed from one branch be returned at another? Rationalise staffing policy to avoid numerous part time and casual workers. Could branch librarian structure be reviewed and adjusted? Further collaboration with other library authorities in use of resources, e.g. inter-library loans and cross border borrowing by
individuals and improvement of websites and online catalogues.
Review the maintenance contracts in place and see if something better can be done. Perhaps offering this work to local businesses might bring down costs and help local employment Are there any areas within the buildings that can be let as offices or for private hire for parties and private functions.
Rotating opening hours of the various libraries so that they are open for part of the week. Utilise the facilites of other paid events after hours.
run chargeable homework / out of school clubs run chargeable computer lessons for elderly facilitate clubs out of hours evening (charge the clubs) eg family history research, various computer clubs/courses for children and adults, homework clubs, homework clubs, kumon
Run Sanderstead Library with input from local community groups or schools, look at opening a coffee bar to generate additional income . Sack the people who are paid to do this job and obviously can't. And bring back mobile l braries.
Sanderstaed library is one which I have used for 20 years and where I took my children as they were growing up. It's local and has a lovely community feel that you don't get in larger modern libraries. I think it's very well run but to
improve it- opening hours longer and on Sundays- maybe more organised activities for local people. PLEASE DON'T CLOSE IT! Even going to Selsdon would put off people- especially people without access to private transport. Sanderstead is a very active community- has the idea of volunteers helping out during the week been examined? Perhaps that is an option for the other l braries under threat as well? Rather than just thinking about saving money, could the l brary be used more effectively as a revenue centre- a nominal fee for kiddy groups and school visits, a cafe (Sanderstead could do with a decent one), sponsorship by local businesses to run travel/business books section, for example. Perhaps consult with library members to see if they would be prepared to pay a small annual fee for their library ticket (single or family membership)
Sanderstead library has a good amount of space - reintroduce childrens corner - have a coffee room - Just give the Library to the people of Sanderstead - they deserve it - we've paid for it 10 fold over the years - with volunteer help and all the building/accountany expertise in the area - we would make a great job it - make it our community centre - we dont want to go to Selsdon - some people cant get to Selsdon
Sanderstead library is a fantastic resource. Already it has closed for an extra day. I think one more day closure at each library would be far better than a complete closure and would save, I suppose, a significant amount. Save it on something else instead of leading a full assault on the literacy levels of children. How about councillors expenses.
Save money by making the council more efficient.
save money on schools I pay my council tax and expect Shirley and all the other librarys open. save on bringing books round to people
Savings be made elsewhere :-Your Croydon is a publication that I never read - I much prefer to gain my information about the Borough in the Library as it has so many other benefits. Introduce money generating functions such as coffee shop in the librarys as many book shops have done. I would be willing to volunteer to help provide it. Make a charge for using the computers. Make a charge for joining the library as there is to join th eswimming pool. Savings might be made by using volunteers to help keep all the libraries open. Staff redundancies, one or two per library leaving librarians to supervise. I for one would willing give some time to keep Shirley library open and I sure there are many more like minded people living locally.
Savings must be made from elsewhere. Reduce council wasteful expenditure. Claim back all unpaid council tax in Croydon. Don't penalise children for mistakes made by bankers and the government.
Scale back book provision, retaining just books of local interest. Concentrate on potentially profit-making activities, such as DVD/Music rentals, hiring out library space to local groups, and low cost participatory events (charge a small fee for kids events etc) or low cost services such as PC provision. What if you added in a cafe or other franchise that could be popular?
School children can help to cut staff cost. Rent the hall upstairs once it has been refurbished. The local residence association could help rising the money. Local businesses can sponsor some of the cost. See above re mobile library
See p. 7 above.
Self service checkin/out. Getting books donated by public/business, lots of people buy books that are read once and then discarded or given to charity shops, these hardly used books could be donated direct to the library to give benefit to the wider population or sold through libraries. Getting better deals from publishers/suppliers. Having the right staff levels suit usage times. Have times that would attract more people in! Have coffee shops in the library!
Self service checkin/out. Staff levels to suit usage requirements. Getting books donated by public/business, even to sell if surplus to requirements. Having fewer copies of books known to be less popular. Making it more of a public 'hub', eg as a meeting place or with coffee bar type facilites, there are plenty of people in these usually who would probably take a book as well. The purpose of libraries is to help educate and inform and closing them is not
a long term help without other provisions in place. Youngsters cannot use the internet, but they can choose a book from it's cover!
Self service could help reduce staff costs as could a council review of fixed costs that are set centrally and are always left out of reviews such as this. Examine trust status and contracting out too before closing anything.
Self service issue and renewal desks. Volunteer librarians alongside paid librarians. Pay per visit library events eg poetry or book readings. I would be keen to gain a response to my following queries from a suitable council representative: If libraries within the Croydon area were closed under the proposed cost savings - where exactly would the savings come from? Is this simply through staff reductions and associated facility costs? Would the
buildings and surrounding land be sold for revenue or used for alternative council services? If sold, would this money be ringfenced to support library/arts services within the borough or used for other purposes? If l braries were closed where would the resources within them, books and computers etc, go? Would they be incorporated into other borough libraries or sold for revenue? Whilst closing council facilites may provide short term economic benefits
for the council, has thought been given to the longer term social and economic impacts of losing these services upon communities and individuals who regularly use and live locally? Thank you.
sell advertising space sell old books
Sell poscards/stamps for money. Also birthday/christmas cards. Charge for courses e.g.card making. Sell the computers (or stop leasing them whatever it is you do!) and just use the library for books...
Selling of old stock, hiring out of more DVDS etc. I actually think Croydon Council should be resisting these cuts which will damage our communities permanently.
Selsdon library has a large lawn out the front. This property could be rented for a regular craft fair or farmer's market, to generate income.
Sending 1 reminder letter only for all overdue books - 3 weeks ago, we received 2 letters (at a cost of 50p), asking for the return of 9 books, all borrowed on the same card. One letter showed the titles of 5 books and the other stated the remaining 4; surely the computer system could be tweaked so that all titles borrowed on each card are listed on one letter. Please note that we have never been late in returning books before; on this occasion, it was due to the severe weather and illness.
set them up as community trusts to keep them open and free at point of use
Set up a visible and active volunteer support network for each branch library (not just the ones threatened with closure). Use online communications and social networking to draw people in as volunteers in a range of activities, including organising events and fundraising. Generally make more use of the library facilities for events and after hours hirings. Include a donations box like there is in many museums. Sell scratch-cards in local shops.
Several of the libraries considered for closure are on the list because of the state of the repair of the buildings themselves. This highlights the lack of consideration the council has for local and architechural history. Invest in the buildings themselves and increase the opportunities for wider public participation, so they can become true community centres. Many charities need to book rooms for meetings providing a source of income.
Share some services and posts - such as book/dvd buying and processing with other local authorities. Give back room staff some frontline duties including senior managers. Use new(ish) technologies such as self-service machines - not to replace staff but to make better use of staff time. Use volunteers to help promote library activities, fund raise for events and assist staff in running some activities ie book groups, craft activities (to provide added value) but NOT to run libraries. Alter opening times to reflect times of higher usage. Update buildings to make them more effiecent, rent space for cafes etc. Run other council services through l braries eg one stop shops etc.
Shared use/provision for other public services eg Connexions careers service Income from advertising local commercial services More limited days of opening Income from renting out facility on closure dates Consider fund raising for improving the ventilation system at Bradmore Green L brary
Sharing books between l braries on a kind of rota system so that new books do not have to be purchased for every single library Shorten Library Opening Times To increase Use & Reduce Overheads.
Shortening the opening hours a little
Shorter hours and perhaps close an extra day a week
Shorter hours, open less days of the week, and focus on lending books. Shorter opening hours
Shorter opening hours Use l brary rooms etc for community lets
Shorter opening hours or fewer days open for some libraries would save money. Savings don't necessarily have to be made from libraries... Shorter opening hours, manned by part-time staff.
shorter opening times and voluntary people working in there
Shorter working weeks could help almalgamate two libraries so that both could stay open, and local people such as elderly/infirm, would still have access. Natural staff wastage could then happen without redundancy packages as some staff could also be re-deployed.
Shut library for more days - open 3 days for instance Charge for reading group Have some volunteering under trained l brarians
Small charge for each library ticket. Charges for computer usage as per internet cafes. Hire out rooms at the library for community usage. Make money by the introduction of cafe style restaurants - which could tie in to the above point.
Small charges for adult borrowing. Small charges to those over a certain income for using the computers. Hiring of facilities to community groups and charities. small charges to customers for he use of certain services.
solar panels on the roof or a combined heat and power unit that would reduce the running costs. Some libaries could open on a part time basis.
Some libraries would be better closed as newer facilities are quite close, but perhaps also close some libraries on two days. Sorry I just don't know.
Spend less on unneccessary refurbs. Make cut backs in number of staff.
sponsership, get local groups to run them have GP practices in them rent them for meetings/bulic readings poetry painting workshops advertising space get internet companies to offer broadband for free staff them by volunteers
Sponsorship from private sector Encourage more use by teenagers by hosting debates, ta ks, social gatherings, book readings, evening book discussions. Reach out to to Microsoft, Apple, Google for advertising in return for
sponsorship - or helping in many of their research projects Increase council tax by œ2 Invite book openings at the library from authors in return for promotion fees to aid funding - this also encourages more people to visit the library.
Sponsorship of specific library services by local businesses.
Sponsorship, increase fines, use less outside companies for jobs that could be done by council staff. Sponsorship, increase fines.
Staff some of the hours woth volunteers instaed of paid staff Ask people to dontae 50p everytime they use the library,.
Staffing the l brary with volunteers from the local community. This could be researched as there are many retired people in the area who would welcome the interest and the social contact such work would bring.
Stagger the hours or days rather than closing
start up 'friends of' groups. charge for certain activities
Starts up a friends association to raise funds, add on a cafe to some of the sites to drive more footfall.
Stick to books Make modest charge for IT/Computing Limit or stop videos (unless video activities stand on its own financial feet). Simplify on-line access - very diofficult to find actual site for eg renewing. Handouts in library appear incomplete
Stop building the new offices for your council on Fell Road and use that money instead. Keep Tabiner House instead and save money on unneccesary building work. You did this with Path Ways or whatever it was that never went through, so it cannot be too hard to do the same with your council office building. DO YOU REALLY NEED IT???? Ask for donations to the library and ask big businesses to donate money to the l braries for books.
Arrangea day when the councillors go into the libraries and donate an hour of theirtime oncea way to reduce costs. You expect us to do so your staffcan do t too.
Stop buying new books and publications completely and just reain what they have. stop dumping old books without buying a replacement new editions
Stop employing consultants
Stop employing people that cost the council over œ100,000 in individual salaries. Closing libraries, that will then be gone forever, is extremely short-sighted and will have an a detrimental effect on the young and old of Sanderstead.
Stop lending CDS and Dvds. Charge for using special internet sites which require subscriptions eg ancestry
Stop lending DVDs. Don't buy daily newspapers. Fine people for damage to books. Have an electronic check-out system and a better on-line renewal system. Make more books available on-line.
Stop loaning DVDs - it's a library. I don't think you should cut back on this service - for many on low incomes it's the only way to access books and computers - esp children without internet access at home. I'd say look at saving money on eg parking wardens and unnecessary fines.
Stop opening any more! Or charge for people to join a library, or increase the charge for hiring dvds. As long as libraries that are desperately needed are closed down.
stop printing so many useless leaflets as people don't take them and brochures. repair anything that's broken properly so you don't have work men going back to fix the same problem over and over again. get rid of the library manager in each l brary and have one person in charge of 3 or 4 libraries. have more part-time staff.
Stop printing so many useless leaflets. close the library for an extra day.
Stop refurbishing council offices and spaces. Do not provide state of the art copiers and computer facilities to libraries you are determined to close. Stop subsidising those who can work and who do not, move asylum seekers to other councils so equal shares for all, reduce subsidies for renting large privately owned houses, cut top council salaries to less than PM, make council employees work until 5.30pm and have checks on their efficiency,
Stop spending huge sums on expensive trendsy architect designed refurbishments (Thornton heath library) - that are not appreciated by the local community and invest in experienced stafff - open longer (to cater for those working) and charge a small fee for internet access and book clubs etc(those on benefits or low incomes could be issued no cost cards - use restricted to a number of hours per month, to prevent overuse). The fees raised from
internet access useage and small charges fior book clubs could reduce the council deficit.
Stop translation services and multi-language information. Stop DVD/CD hire as many movies now available online.
Stop waiving fines. I have seen fines waived when the customer has become confronational. Front line staff have appealed to the senior staff and been overruled. Not only does this loose the library income, but demoralises the staff. L brary usage is dropping because of the poor selection of new books. More money could be spent on books if a small charge was made for the use of the internet and the income generated ringfenced for the
bookfund.
stop wasting on surveys, rebuilding Taberner House etc.etc.
streamlining things ll ke office management in the council - much money is wasted and ensuring these leaks are plugged would be best way forward
Sutton uses an automated check in and check out system reducing the need for desk staff. Specialist staff can then concentrate on providing l brary and community services (such as childrens groups and book discussion groups) take on more money making scheems for teh library... e.g charge for computer usage
Target opening hours to when most people use them. Consider the use of volunteers manning smaller libraries
Tax the banks and leave our libraries alone!
That is a difficult and somewhat unfair question. I feel that such a vital community service should not be cut at all, and the overall saving does not appear to be that great. Most people know little or nothing about libraries.Perhaps we need to know a lot more before being asked to answer such a question!
That is the councils job. Closing is not an option. Try saving from other areas of waste in the council.
That senior managers within the council are paid less, that there are fewer councillors. There are plenty of ways to save money that do not involve cutting services, especially l brary services, which are important for children doing homework and improving their literacy, families to come together for rhymetimes and storytimes, and adults to learn new skills such as ICT, languages, and enjoy reading
The aim should be to retain all of the libraries proposed for closure, as they provide a valuable and inclusive service to their local community. The visit and loan figures show that they continue to be well-used. If the only rationale
for closing these libraries is cost savings, then such savings should be sought elsewhere. Each library costs of the order of œ100k per year to run. This represents remarkably good value. I find is sad that Croydon is just copying what every other council in the country is proposing to do to save money - close l braries to save money, very unfair on the staff who run them and the people who use them. Cipfa recently commented on the Croydon library service: ?Croydon?s fantastic achievement shows that modern l braries are as relevant to their communities as ever.? This in response to Croydon Central l brary increasing its visitor numbers to become the 3rd most visited library in the country. You can build on this success by retaining and continuing to develop all the branch libraries proposed for closure. Being a parent of older children, I know the value that my children have obtained in having access to l braries as they have grown up, the countless books they have borrowed and enjoyed, which otherwise they would not have had access to. The benefit that this has brought to their reading and education is incalculable. Their children in turn should be able benefit from this service. I continue to use the library service, and I am sure that for many older people in the community, this is an invaluable service. There must be many other ways for the Council to reduce money before closing libraries. Reduce the number of councillors for a start. Purley has 3 councillors, I am sure we can make do with 2 (or even 1 ). We only need 1 MP for the area, why so many councillors. Perhaps they would also be willing to cut back on their allowances, to reduce the overall councillor cost. There must surely also be scope to reduce central costs at Taberner House through some of the initiatives proposed by government such as sharing back office functions with other councils. I can accept in these times that we might need to reduce the cost of running the library service in Croydon, but all functions in Croydon should have to cut back, not just deal with the budget cuts by closing libraries. To save money in libraries: Cut back on the number of hardback books ordered in favour of cheaper paperbacks. Reduce the number of reference books ? such material is now more conveniently accessed online and can be done through a central subscription. There is no need to have DVD collections in every library especially if they can be borrowed from another Croydon library. Reduce the number of hardcopy magazine and newspaper subscriptions. Use online subscriptions instead available in every library. Focus the collection on the users e.g books for children if these are the main users; also large print books if these are in demand locally. For the latter avoid duplication between sites, and use cross-site borrowing or transfer . Cut back on the amount of general fiction especially ?bestsellers? availably cheaply from supermarkets and other outlets. Certainly do not have multiple copies of such materials, or ask people to donate their copies. Use the library to expand the choice available to readers beyong ther bestseller lists. Music/DVDs are not a priority ? have some available, especially to attract users, but don?t spend lots of money. Encourage people to donate unwanted books and AV material. Although Croydon central library is the 3rd most used in the country, its issue numbers do not reflect this. Therefore have less books located centrally and make these available the branch libraries. If necessary reduce staff, I don?t want anyone to lose their jobs, but accept this may be necessary, but only if other council functions take their share of the pain of staff reductions. Open the branch l braries for fewer days per week.
The amount saved on the libraries is very small and pales into insignficance with housing benefit doled out over the year.
The buildings could be used for more / other things to bring in revenue. The opening hours could be reduced. Volunteers could be used to help keep the libraries open.
The central council bureaucracy is too expensive. Make economies in Tabaner house and the council chambers where councillors expenses are outrageous, before closing libraries. Remember once a l brary is closed it can NEVER be re-opened
The closing of Purley l brary. If not already this is something of a potential 'white elephant', situated on what is virtually a traffic island. No parking facilities and only accessible (from any direction) by a pedestrian by crossing 2/3 sets of traffic lights. This library will probably have to close within the next decade in any case, so do it now, make it an option and save a considerable amount of money towards your target. Also, Coulsdon library with all it's facilities is just further along the Brighton Road.
The cost savings offered do not indicate the residual costs of security and the building maintenance, alternative use etc. Without the breakdown of costs it is hard to assess the payback off alternatives - moving to an online l brary service. However it is important to provive the tactile experienc eof handling books
The council could consider volunteer librarians to support current staffing levels. Councils are paying high salaries to themselves which seems to echo the current misuse of taxpayer money in Central Government. Why are so
many councillors needed to run Croydon, 4 to a ward seems excessive. Changing a culture into one where residents help each other instead of expecting high levels of goverment support will take time. However if the Council takes a positive lead by setting things up, it could be developed into a powerful tool.
The council should not just look negatively at saving money, once down that route there is no return and it spirals down. Closure would mean less facilities until the point where people do not think of or see any value in the
services so they eventually disappear. Should loo positively and consider how we can make revenues. create facilities and resources that companies, groups and foreign investors would value and be prepared to pay for. Links with UKTi and London Chamber to offer facilities and shared resources would be a start.
The emphasis should not be on saving money but on providing a cultural place for our young school children to obtain information for school projects etc. When my children were young we spend lots of hours there and without
this service young people today would miss out.
The idea I have is for the top part of the l brary to be refurbrished so that it could be hired out for social and educational events to generate money.
The leader of the council could forgo his ridiculous pay rise, cancel the councils ludicrous plans to build new offices in Croydon - we have plenty of empty office blocks already!
The L braries can reduce the digital content and streamline services - particularly outdated material and promote events that will allow the Library to be hired out for events/meetings etc. to some of the business - who do not have these facilities. There are a lot of them happening around Norbury and they tend to use either a church or Nuffield and look for alternatives. I do not want the Norbury L brary to close. If it happens I will consider this decision by the Croydon Council to be the worst one they have made in the 25 years of me living here - please redeem yourselves for the years of neglect that you have heaped on Norbury.
The libraries could close on their quietest day of the week, reducing the staff hours and operating costs. Allowing the key days and activities to continue as normal.
The libraries could have reduced opening hours, say Sanderstead could be 3 days and Selsdon could be 3 days a week. That would reduce staffing costs. I really would hate to see any of them close. Mothers of young children enjoy the facilities as do the youngsters themselves so it would affect pretty well all ages.
THe libraries should become involved in more public-private partnerships. At the grass roots level this may mean that the l brary simply rents rooms to Saturday drama classes, or budding businesses. Something to be explored more Each library can be closed on one extra day, giviing people to option to journey if they need be The lesson of using Hub is very much mixed. For example, please review the Renaissance in the Regions use of Hubs and
how they have on several occasions undermined the infrastructures of museums. It is a lesson best suited for a cultural analysis. Whilst I would like to give further information about have to save money, this consultation has not provided me with the information to make an informed suggestion. You have not told me of the demographics of the others areas were library closure is poss ble. Additionally, you have not informed me whether those
programmes advocated in the council's development strategies (distributed in the same place you now wish to close, are still going ahead. I do not remember us have consultation on many of those. I would suggest an overall review of the programmes and projects without the usual resort to cutting frontline services.
The library could be expanded so it offers more services to the local community, with space & facilities 'rented out' to other public service providers such as the employment and benefits agencies to make the l brary a one-stop- shop to help people back into work. Access to the park next door could be made via the car park and a shared cafe facility would generate income and draw more users into the library itself.
the library is over staffed with 4 members on duty
The money saved closing these vital local resources is a drop in the ocean of what the councils say they need to save overall so I recommend leaving the l baries open and making cuts elsewhere. To help themselves as well, libraries could take donations.
The most important thing is to retain the buildings so that they can continue to open, even if staffed by volunteers, and can then be re-opened fully when resources allow.
The most successful library in Croydon is the Cen tral Library with its very popular cafe, the cinema and computer courses. An annual fee on joining would be acceptable to most people, and perhaps a small fee for borrowing books. Cafe facilities would also be very welcome.
The newly "revamped" Thornton Heath library has the largest 'LIBRARY' sign I have I have ever seen, it it a little late to ask how I think you can save money. Try sacking the person to signed the document to say it was OK and a few of his/her sycs would probably save œ200.000 a year, which is two l braries straighr away
the only way as I see as saving money is to cut down on staff.
The opening hours could be reduced I suppose. I do not think that the council should target libraries at all for the cost cutting exercise. Libraries are supposed to be a resource for all. Events and some of the clocktower exhibitions could be reduced but keep our basic wa king distance libraries open please.
The proposal to close l braries would not make a substantial enough saving when weighed against the detriment to the community in so many ways and when compared to the total budget savings which must be made. Transport
links are not sufficient if you are asking e.g. S. Norwood or Bradmore Green users to switch libraries. As far as library savings are concerned You could consider ending DVD rental (sad as far as I'm concerned, but realistically, I'm sure the competition can offer better service). Also, there seems to be too many copies of certain books in libraries - take a closer look at how you order bvooks and whether there is actually a demand for them
The question is phrased to encourage comments that justify a degradation of library services, something that I strongly oppose.
The savings made by L brary closures seem to be very small in the grand scheme of things -other expenditures should be looked at first. e.g. is the new Croydon headquarters to be cancelled?
The whole point of a library is not about running for efficiency and how to save money. What more can you make efficient at a local library? They need heating, lighting, staffing and links to central computer systems. There are no mortgages or rents to be paid on the lovley old buildings surely. What else can you cut? In the grand scheme of things, saving between œ98 and œ650k is trifling and not going to have a significant impact when the figure
banded around to be saved is œ90m. You are our representatives and should not be destroying our communities.
There are a number of ideas that need to be considered. The first and very obvious option is to consider a partnership with another business that may be able to run the l brary as a commercial venture and provide library facilities at a much smaller annual cost to the council. For example, some of the major coffee chains such as Starbucks, Nero and Costa are running other libraries and providing coffee shops - therefore making them more attrative. A
commercial bookshop and coffee shop concession would also provide income. A longer term and more sustainable solution has to be for Croydon Council to look at its own efficency savings. Croydon Council could save many more millions in back office functions such as IT, procurement, HR and accomodation by opting for shared services with other councils (much the way that central Govt does). Wasting œ130 million on new council offices simply
isn't acceptable in the current climate and shows how out of touch Croydon councillors are. There are huge inneficiencies in the way that Croydon and other councils procure large contracts. For example, Veola provide refuse and street cleaning services across many London boroughs including Croydon, Lambeth and Wandsworth. There are huge effieincey savings to be made by rolling up these kind of contracts therefore safeguarding revenues for local services.
There have been huge cuts already, as I already know and was involved in. Most of these libraries are close to the local towns shops, I think the closure would effect the local businesses as well. I think you could open the venue out for evening events for teenagers etc Work with the community bus scheme and have them by there once a week to raise footfall. Offer tutoring scheme there but charge. Seek sponsorship Reduce expenditure costs Concentrate on other departments expenditure etc
There might be a case for having some sort of subscription or extra fee if users wanted to borrow more than, say, three, books. But I would not be keen on the idea. I tend to the view that losing the libraries whose closure would
mean a far greater loss than merely the cash immediately involved
They are key in the fabric of our society! DO NOT CLOSE SOUTH NORWOOD LIBRUARY They could maybe have coffee and cakes meetings to draw people in.
They really cannot cost that much to run compared with other local expenses. Perhaps some money made from parking charges could be used. They should be seen as more than a library and provide a wider range of council services.
Think outside the box - Why not consider ways of _generating_ money?? Increase the pay and display prices by 10 pence an hour and you'll easily cover the costs of the libraries.
Think you should stop wasting money on glossy printing of council brochures, newsletters etc, cut top salaries..Why does the chief exec warrent such a high salary? Stop wasting money on non essentials!
Thinking about l braries, they have pretty well been pared to the bone during the last ten years. More logical and acceptable savings, that would not affect the public services the council provides would be made by reducing councillors' money and that of chief officers. Croydon has more councillors than other boroughs, a reduction here would also seem acceptable.
Thinking of ways of using the building to make money. Hiring the venue out for meetings such as resident association meetings. Looking into the opening times, working out when the library is most busy and having less staff when the l brary is quieter. Putting more emphasis on local resident's to assist with the running of the library.
This doesn't help, but I have always thought it would be nice if libraries were open on Sundays, but I do realise this would not be cost effective.
This is a poor questionnaire. It's plain that it was created before Cabinet saw the recommendations put forward by Council staff. In particular, options 1-6 are not mutually exclusive, and Q1 is in quite the wrong form. (As a Fellow of the Market Research Society, I know about questionnaires.) The responses will be worthless. Where is the rationale for choosing these six libraries for potential closure and not others? You should consider closure of each and every branch library, not just these six.
this is quite hard to answer without documents stating the spenditure? Thinking of Norbury in particular - perhaps more could be done with the upstairs area...i.e hiring out to workshop companies? To amalgamate groups of libraries, pooling staff resources across them so that each is open 2.5 days per week. This would reduce staffing costs by a significant amount.
To balance a budget one should look at increasing income as well as cutting expenditure. Has sponsorship been considered - from Banks, large supermarkets, internet providers etc.? A modest increase in council tax and business rates should also be considered - or is that too much of a political hot potato? Many residents would accept an increase to avoid drastic cuts in services which may never be restored. Why not an increase in business rates for big organisations if they won't sponsor? Could book stocks not be re-distr buted among the Libraries more regularly? In the last resort library hours could be temporarily reduced and staff shared - I know that this would mean some redundancies but closure would probably mean more. Once a library is closed it will probably never be re-opened - cultural vandalism!
To bring in extra revenue for the Council in these difficult times: Make a nominal charge for the use of the Internet. ie for resident OAP= free . Unemployed = 20p . Non resident = standard rate of œ1 @ hour. The number of P.C could be incremented to take in those redundant from other sites. Thus more choices, more customers and more revenue. Additionally this building is also suitable for business meetings and private functions at reasonable price and within easy commuting distance.
To find other efficiency savings in the way that the library services are provided. Also look for other efficiency savings elsewhere within the services that Croydon provides. Just because Croydon is tasked to provide certain statutory services within the borough, does not mean that they couldn't review whether they are really providing these in the most efficient and effective manner possible. There are always ways to work smarter and more
efficiently. The service that Croydon libraries provides is essential and should not be stopped.
to generate money from companies like public patnership, donations from retail jients, fundraising events at various place To keep libraries open there could be the use of volunteers working under the guidance of library professionals
To make a reasonable charge for using the PCs - perhaps 30 minutes free access daily and then œ1.00 an hour thereafter.
To make better use of the budgets Croydon l braries should be open in the evenings and more at weekends so that people who can commute into London can actually use the l braries they pay for in their council tax. Treat as social enterprises - increase charges for services, increase cost for renting out space, reduce opening hours, don't offer supplmentary services unless they provide an income stream.
Try charging a small fee (œ1) for Rhyme Time and the other childrens activities, I am sure parents wouldnt mind, all other kids activities you visit cost much more.
Try to generate more income perhaps from using available space to hold exhibitions, selling of crafts, artwork etc. Renting out space where appropriate to coffee shops which in turn might bring more people into the libraries as places where the community can come together. Hold more classes l ke yoga, meditation and tai chi in the local libraries after hours. There are not enough classes in the norbury/thornton heath end of the borough. Since I have resided in Norbury the area has become more densely populated due to many of the office blocks in the London road being turned into flats. It is therefore of vital importance that we do not lose our local library.
turn heating down / off have just afternoon sessions - so kids could pop in to research homework on way home from school stop buying newspapers- people can go on line to read them ... also saves paper! ask customers to donate "recent" books that they have finished with... how often are books re-read within a house hold?
Turn it into a coffee shop. Run part of the building as Post Office, newsagent or stationary shop. Small charges for services provided.
Turn off the heating and burn the books instead! Libraries are paid for by us the tax payer. Leave them alone and stop trying to reduce services and peoples quality of life. Turn some of the lights out. There are so many lights in the Central library you could turn 50% of them off and it would still be visible from outer space.
Turn the heating down in all libraries by two degrees.
Turn the lights off at night . They were all on at 10.30 last night. (Sunday) I can't believe it costs œ500 a week to run must be able to make savings. Updating book stock at longer intervals, with a smaller stock of fiction, and reduce the amount of new fiction. Using voluntary help.
Use all Libraries, especially those libraries which are under threat of closure, for additional Council services as well as Library services.
Use more volunteers to work in the l brary, have local fundraising and donations for books. More activities after school for a small fee
Use of some volunteers would probably work - if sufficient can be found, of course! Also, better use of the facilities (eg room hire) at our local library might bring in a small income. Library was refurbished in the last couple of years. If it was closed, what use would be made of it? Hopefully it would be used and not demolished/used for housing!
Use of volunteers to help with the running of the library. More automated services for checking in and out books. Magazines and journals on line if this is cheaper. Make a small charge for activities and events or ask for a volunary contribution.
Use of volunteers.
Use retired helpers even have it run by volunters If the l brary is closed the puplic space MUST NOT BE BUILT ON it must become PARKLAND, Please advise what your savings accounting includes for the follow up use of the land if you closed the library. This form filling system seems to me just your senior excecutives manipulation of public opinion. How much could we save in the hard times we face by either, reducing the number of Senior
Executives we employ or reducing their wages - by say 20% and/or by appointing retired volunters to help do their jobs
Use the l braries more as communtity centres, put some of the council facilities in to the l brary, make it not just a place to borrow books but a hub for the local community.
Use the l braries to provide more community services, they could be a hub for their surrounding communities. Provide more CALAT courses at l braries. Encourage more people to attend. Use the l brary resources to provide commercial services i.e. to run courses.
Use volunteers for basic tasks i.e. putting books back on shelves.
Use volunteers for basic work. It is an area of service that many people are interested in and would be eager to help . Use volunteers to assist or run some parts of the library
Use volunteers to cover some of the staff needs. Increase charges for late returns of books or other materials borrowed from the libraries
Use volunteers where poss ble. Switch off the lights once the l braries close ! get local scools to encourage the pupils to use their library as a learning centre and that reading books is fun. Using volunteers
Utilise the library more for education and training by allowing external organisation to run courses or day or hour sessions for a fee, thus raising more revenue Vary opening times with other Croydon Librarys
virtual libraries
Voluntary help would assist costs Volunteer /part time assistants.
Volunteer helpers, reduce opening times, small charge for borrowing books (œ1 a time)
Volunteer librarians to put books away etc.. Request for the community to give books to the l brary that they have already read. Develop the on line service - electronic books. If each library takes a cut then all could stay open - I assume most of the costs are staffing and there is a limit to what you can do and keep the place open...(4 day week?)
Volunteer staf as with charity shops open charity type shops within the library Areas other than shirley have other community facilities which Shirley does not move liabrary services to one of these buildings in the other areas Volunteer Staff to support qualified staff. Less copies of some titles. Fewer choices of magazines and newspapers or specialising newspapers and magazines to one Library within an accessible Zone.(three libraries) Levies on Private schools to support local l braries. Sponsorship of clubs and events to provide materials. E.G. The Necafe Book Trail. Cleaning to be carried out by junior or voluntary library staff, when this consists of dusting and floor sweeping/vacuming. Close up to three days a week (including Sunday) with always at least one library open within the zone. Shift working within zones. Getting EU/government grants for Libraries in New Addington and north of the borough to take into account extra facilities required for Ethnicity, poverty, unemployment, poor health and poor education levels in these areas.
Volunteer staff? A greater use of rotating stock around the l braries Using them as community meeting places (and therby charging the group for the use there of) Authors donateing books? An e library?? Coffee/tea being sold?
Volunteer team of staff for basic work, upgrading duties if willing and have ability. Retain management. Open less days per week.
Volunteers Friends of groups Encourage more use and get the users (especially groups) to help raise funds for better books/equipment and consequently more use.
Volunteers manning libraries
volunteers to assist some permanent staff.
Volunteers to help run part of the l brary service. Requests for new fiction books from the public at select times of year so it is maanageable but would replenish the stock. Use the hall at Norbury l brary to generat extra revenue. Add services where a subscription could be charged for those who could afford it. This could be as little as a recommended reading list compiled for users that was sent out on email.
Volunteers who frequently use l brary facilities to help run; raising money by hiring out facilities for community use, offering training courses, using ICT facilities better etc Volunteers, additional commercial, corporate and internal revenue streams, avoidance of "central overheads" sponsorship. Most of these make money, rather than saving money. Volunteers, avid readers with spare time and a passion for books. Reduce the hours. Make the hall upstairs usable to raise money on hire.
Voluteers could play a role in helping to support salaried and experienced staff. voulenteers working there
We cannot live without our library. Please don't shut Sanderstead library. It will make children very unhappy.
We do not think savings should be made in this service.
We have an abundance of Children's Centres in Croydon not being used by people whom they would most benefit. Why are new ones still being opened? Why can't Children's centre services be provided in the borough's health clinics?
We receive a constant stream of glossy magazines and brochures from across the council. An example of this is the staff magazine LOOP which arrives monthly in colour and which I assume has a paid production team. It is
also worrying that the Leader of Croydon Council was mentioned in one of the evening papers in December as being in the top five earners of Council leaders in the country and some of the expenses published last year seem to be excessive given that they are paid by Croydon's Council Tax payers. A little restraint at the top might help to save a few jobs at the bottom of the Croydon Council employment ladder.
What about canvassing for volunteers to work at the Library? I'm sure that there are many people willing to give one or two days a week to save Sanderstead Library and the others from closure. A short training course should not be too hard to organise. Once the L brary is closed it is unlikely that it will ever open again, depriving local users of a superb service. I can also see the sale of the building and surrounding land being an attraction for a
developer - no more flats please. If the building could be used as a medical centre or something similar, on a short term basis with an option to reopen as a Library when the economic climate improves, that would be infinitely preferable.
WHAT I HAVE NOTICED AT SEVERAL OF THE BRANCHES FACING POSSIBLE CLOSURE IS THE OVERSTAFFING. MANY BRANCHES COULD DO WITH LESS FULL-TIME PAID STAFF AND A WHOLESALE
RECRUITMENT OF VOLUNTEERS. THIS APPROACH HAS SHOWN TO BE MOST SUCCESSFUL WITH LIBRARIES IN SIMILAR CIRCUMSTANCES ACROSS ENGLAND.
Whether it would be possible to use volunteers to help staff the library and therefore reduce running costs. I would be more than happy to contribute to this if it could mean that we could save the local libraries of Croydon. Why isn't the meeting room rented out to raise money. I am sure local groups would be happy to use it, for example, the local residents assoc etc. Couldn't the library introduce a coffee shop or refreshement machine? this could bring in more money. Perhaps the library could be opened a few less hours a week.
Why not charge a moderate sum , yearly , for library cards .
Why not charge a small fee each month for people to use the facilities.
Why not consider a very small nominal fee for membership that does not exclude people with very low incomes. For example œ10 per year for anyone over the age of œ18 and free to those who are and can prove they are on a low income like families in receipt of benefit due to circumstances.
Why not introduce a small charge, say 50p for under 5s group.
Why not think about an annual membership fee - structured according to need , age, etc.
Why not think about ways to generate money rather than save money? Make sure cavity wall insulation is sufficient and does its job; ensure buildings are double-glazed; consider having community WIFI - people may well be willing to pay a nominal charge per day eg œ5 to have this; do what hospitals do and rent the roof space to communications and satellite providers.
WHY SHOULD LIBRARIES BE LOOKING TO SAVE MONEY? IF ANYTHING THEIR ROLE SHOULD BE EXPANDED AS THEY PROVIDE A VALUABLE SERVIVE FOR THE COMMUNITY ,. AT SHIRLEY LIBRARY IN PARTICULAR THERE IS A DIVERSE RANGE OF USERS FROM.ALL BACKGROUNDS. LITERATURE IS OUR HERITAGE AND SHOULD NOT BE ERODED!
Why would you try to save money from L braries? They provide a life line for so many different people from so many walks of life. They provide early education, research opportunities and the chance for elderly people to stay in touch with the outside world. Very little is provided by the council in this area, the least that can be done is to maintain this one service.
Widen the appeal of libraries by opening tea/coffee shops and introducing wifi - at present one of the library's biggest assets, Internet access is limited by the number of PCs available. Adding wifi (with security codes) would help people with their own laptops. A small charge could be levied for this service.
Will advise on efficiency savings through reduce service ,opening hours,waste and staff time share
Withdraw video and DVD lending. Books and computers are very important to improve knowledge. DVD is for pleasure. It is easily downloaded on internet or rented by post. Would it be possible to reduce staffing but keep the l braries open, perhaps with restricted hours?
Would prefer reduced opening hours to complete closure.
Wrong question. It should be about providing a basic service through public funds. The council could save money to offset the cost of basic service such as reducing the use of consultants and the benefits councillors can claim
You can save money on other services or put the taxes up. It is really discusting what is happening in this country at the moment and the worst thing is that we are taking all the cutts with little or no complain. Did you know that Croydon was one of the first l braries to be open in this country? what little respect you all have for our culture and heritage. It is shamefull.
You could ask the local users of Sanderstead Library to volunteer time to assist professional l brarians. I am sure you would be surprised with the positive response. You could charge a nominal fee for exhibitions and also groups for the under 5's.
You could charge a small annual membership? Increase fines? In the case of Sanderstead library, there is a large grassy area outside the library. Maybe this could be sold for development? Or you could build something else on
it, such as a hall to rand create additional revenue that way.
You could close the first 2 that would save you the most amount of money. You could close down the smallest l braries. You could produce more publicity about the library so more people will visit. You could close the libraries one day more than normal.
You could consider opening fewer days or possibly shorter opening hours.
you could create more revenue for the smaller libraries by having a cafe attached - l ke central library - but the proceeds benefit the library. i think this and more of an active participation with the community i.e. groups and classes would increase the number of visitors rather than discourage users by closing the smaller libraries and referring them to an a beit larger but much less intimate library.
you could cut hours to less days per week you could rationalise services - go back to being a library that lends books and not much more but allow space for people to create activities as part of local need you could instigate a
london wide book buying consortium that reduced price of books
You could have an embargo on buying books for a while. You could run a campaign of encouraging donations of books from the public to use them instead. Anything unusable could be donated to charity. You could probably open three days a week, and Selsdon also three days,thus sharing staff instead of closing one or the other.
You could reduce the opening hours and have fewer, longer open days. You could produce a rosta of free labour ie Duke of Edinburgh 'service' award children or volunteers You could refresh the books by circulating them
around the borough more thoroughly rather than buying new ones. Closing a library means it will probably never open again. The constant contracture in Croydon of services ie swimming for children, sports for children, provision for the elderly undermines the fundamental purpose of why people work and pay taxes to provide a better life for their children. I appreciate the North of the borough may have a lower income per person but if you are a
low income in Old Coulsdon you would feel it more acutely as all the facilities are in the North and harder to get to. It, I feel, fosters a feeling of resentment that the South of the Borough always suffers. The wonderful thing about libraries is that it truely can accessed by all. What else does the Council provide that is?
You could sell some of the land beside Sanderstead l brary and indeed others where it exists. With a proviso that as part of the development initiatives would be funded to cover a 3-4 year period to be targeted at helping them deliver/ develop other services that would generate revenue to go towards / reducing their operating costs. For example solar panelling, altering/ extending premises so that sections of it could be leased out long term..
You could start to charge a small charge for the use of computers if you are on them quite a few times a week. You could also use volunter for putting the books away and other jobs like stamping the date on the books and
scanning them.
You may wish to bring the library up to date a bit to encourage it as a meeting ground. You may have to spend a bit of money to get usage back but this would be a small price to pay if the library gets its usage back. If the land is sold to a developer for housing it would be an absolute crime by the Council to have closed a much needed facility for more housing. I suggest sorting out all the immigrants who get so much help from the Council for not giving
anything in return before you close an institution such as Bradmore Green Library.
You should increase revenue, not lower costs. Increase the penality for late returns, increase the fee for DVD rentals etc. Making childrens reading events payable (l ke œ1 or so). This will reduce the nett cost of the l brary, but still provides the necessary access.
You will be saving over a 4 year period, œ2.6 million. Perhaps cutting down on the number of councillors, reduce expenses might be a start. But most amazingly, you have assets that you have failed to utilise. !. The hall above Norbury Library! What a wonderful space to use for Conferences Receptions, even evening institute classes. Finally cuts do not promote growth. So wake up!
Your current consultation document provides no useful information regarding the relative usage of the various libraries, their comparative stocks or facilities or any additional services that they provide. Choice is therefore biased
by the nearest to the voter. It would be far better to investigate ways to allow these establishments to raise revenue, for example by adding post office services.
Your survey does not address people who use several l braries. Look to where the council spend the most money, and cut there. Encourage people to use their local branch library rather than treck in to Taberner House for council contact. Invite donations to support the library service. Widen the range of in and out-of-hours activities in libraries, which can raise funds for the library. Protect the library service from cuts by looking elsewhere for savings.
Your survey only looks at the cost of running these branch libraries, it does not show the services they provide to the local community for this cost, which, as we all know is far more than lending books. Its all very well to say another library is only one mile away, but if the children's library in one branch is removed will there even be space for all the extra children at events in the neighbouring branch?
Could this be grounds for a judicial review? If you have the funds it might be a really effective way of stopping the Council's plans, as this clearly contravenes due process. :-(
ReplyDeletePhil